Culture

More Than 1.5 Million People Took Part In The #SchoolStrike4Climate

Let's see Scott Morrison ignore this.

Climate strike draws more than 1.5 million people

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More than 1.5 million people took part in Friday’s world-wide climate strike, according to student organisers.

#SchoolStrike4Climate protests were held in more than 2000 cities and towns in over 100 countries, with students of all ages walking out of class to demand meaningful action on climate change.

In Australia, an estimated 150,000 people took part in rallies in 60 different locations. That’s more than 10 times the number of people who turned out to the first strike in November last year.

Australian students had three main demands: stop the construction of the Adani coal mine in Queensland, no new coal or gas mine projects, and a transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

“The turn out across Australia was nothing short of amazing,” said 16-year-old student spokesperson Nosrat Fareha. “Politicians have responded with indifference to our crippling summer of record heat, bushfires and floods. It’s no wonder so many came out in support today.”

“There’s no time to stand by and wait for the bold action we need. We will keep organising, building our movement and riding the wave of community frustration until Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten step up to the job.”

Of course the strike wasn’t just confined to Australia, with young people marching in their thousands in cities from New York to New Delhi.

Student activists will be holding information evenings in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne over the next two weeks in order to build on the momentum of the strike and make climate change the key issue at the upcoming federal election. For more information, visit the links above.


Feature image via SchoolStrike4Climate, used under Creative Commons CC BY 2.0