The Climate Strike Movement Has Gone Global

By Austin Schoonmaker | March 24, 2019

The fight against climate change has now reached global proportions. Last week, more than 1.4 million high school students in more than 300 cities around the world rose up to demand serious action be taken to combat climate change.

The Climate Strike Movement was inspired by 16-year old Greta Thunberg, a student who participated in a lone school strike in protest for the inaction of fighting climate change on the verge of the Swedish general elections. Her protest went on to inspire millions, with her campaign called Fridays for the Future gaining mass attention across social media. Since then, her actions have galvanized high schoolers to get involved.

https://twitter.com/NaomiArnold/status/1106341146182053888

In a speech given at January’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Thunberg delivered an impassioned speech on climate change, saying “I often hear adults say: ‘We need to give the next generation hope’, but I don’t want your hope. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I do. Every day. And want you to act. I want you to behave like our house is on fire. Because it is.”

So far, the strikes have garnered a wide range of support from adults, environmental groups, and scientists alike. More than 240 scientists even signed a solidarity letter, aligning themselves with the millions of students are voicing their concern with the lack of solid action in fighting climate change.

#Fridays4Future #ClimateStrike#Youth pic.twitter.com/115EI22chh

— Aissatou Diouf (@aissatou_diouf) March 15, 2019

The movement as a whole isn’t endorsing specific ideas in relation to climate change, but rather bringing attention to their desires to imagine a future that is better than the one that’s currently in store for us. The movement is unique in that the bulk of its participants aren’t even of voting age, yet they are the ones stepping up in solidarity of bringing awareness to a pressing issue.

This young base of strikers pose a valid point in that adults have had decades to take steps to cutting carbon emissions, eliminating harmful chemicals in the atmosphere, and a variety of other actions to reduce climate change. Instead, emissions have steadily risen, hitting record peaks as we see the impacts of climate clearer than ever.