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September 2019 climate strikes

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September 2019 climate strikes
File:Logo of Climate Strike.png
DateSeptember 20, 2019 (2019-09-20)
LocationWorldwide
TypeDemonstration
CauseClimate change
Organized byFuture Coalition
Participants
A call to join the Global Climate Strike on September 20, 2019.
Climate Strike protesters in Sydney

The September 2019 climate strikes are a series of international strikes and protests led by young people and adults to demand action be taken to address climate change. The strikes will centre around the dates September 20, which is three days before the United Nations Climate Summit, and September 27.[1][2] The protests took place across 4,500 locations in 150 countries.[3][4] The event is a part of the school strike for climate movement, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg.[5][6]

Background

The strike was the third global strike of the school strike for climate movement. The first strike in March 2019 had 1.6 million participants from over 125 countries.[2][7] The second in May 2019 was timed to coincidence with the 2019 European Parliament election, consisting over 1,600 events in 125 countries.[7][8][9][10] The third strikes will center around September 20 and September 27. They are timed to occur around the United Nations summits on the Youth Climate Summit (September 21) and the Climate Action Summit (September 23).[1] September 27 is also the anniversary of the publishing of Silent Spring, a 1962 book which was key to starting the environmentalist movement.[1]

The strikes are predicted by some news media to be the largest climate protest in world history.[11][12]

Protests by country

Australia

On September 20, organisers estimated that over 300,000 people attended 100 rallies for the global climate strike in Australia.[13] Over 2,500 businesses allowed employees to take part in the strikes, or closed entirely for the day.[13] In Melbourne, one protest gathered an estimated 100,000 participants.[2][12] Organisers claim that 80,000 people took part in a protest at The Domain in Sydney.[13] A strike in Brisbane gathered a reported 20,000 protesters,[14] whilst organisers reported figures of 22,000, 10,000 and 8,000 for strikes in Hobart, Perth and Adelaide, respectively.[13]

Australian protests called for the government to reach "100 per cent renewable energy generation and exports" by 2030, to refrain from starting new fossil fuel projects and to fund "a just transition and job creation for all fossil fuel industry workers and communities".[13]

United Kingdom

The UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) have planned over 200 events across the United Kingdom for September 20. They support a "Green New Deal" and for the age to vote to be reduced from 18 to 16.[11] The strikes are supported by the trade unions University and College Union, Unite the Union and the Trade Union Congress. The Co-operative Bank collaborated with Unite to allow its workforce to strike. Teachers were warned that encouraging students to strike or failing to record student absences could lead to legal or disciplinary action.[12]

Protests in Westminster began at 11 a.m. on September 20.[12] Extinction Rebellion plan to block the Port of Dover on September 21.[12]

United States

Planning

A ​youth climate strike coalition​ came together to collaborate on the campaign.[15] The youth strike coalition, coordinated by Future Coalition, includes national youth-led groups such as Zero Hour, Earth Uprising, Fridays For Future USA, Sunrise, US Youth Climate Strike, International Indigenous Youth Council, Earth Guardians, and Extinction Rebellion Youth.[16]

In addition to the youth coalition, a broad adult climate strike coalition, coordinated by 350.org and March On, is actively supporting the strike.[17] The adult coalition includes the following organizations: Sierra Club, Center for Popular Democracy, NRDC, MoveOn, Hip Hop Caucus and Oxfam.[18]

The strike includes a voter registration drive for youth who are turning 18. More than 10,000 youth have registered to vote in battleground states in two weeks.[19]

Events

The event is one of the largest climate mobilizations in US history.[20] Over 1,000 strike events were planned in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.[21] The New York City school district, with more than one million students, has given permission for youth to skip school for the day to participate in the strike and the Boston school district followed suit and Chicago's Department of Education announced they would not mark students absent if they returned after the strike.[22][23]

In a Manhattan protest on September 20, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke, having sailed to the U.S. across the Atlantic in August 2019.[2]

Support

The September 20 climate strikes received broad support from different civil society sectors including over 2,300 faith leaders who signed a letter in support of the strike.[24] More than 600 health and medical professionals have signed a "doctor's note" excusing students from school, declaring that the climate crisis is a health emergency.[25]

Numerous business including Ben & Jerry's, Patagonia, and Lush Cosmetics announced they would be closed on the 20th to support the strike.[26][27] More than 6,000 websites, including Tumblr and WordPress, will go dark to support the strike on Friday.[28] Over 900 Amazon employees have signed an internal petition pledging to walk out over Amazon's lack of action on climate change.[29][30] A day before the strike Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled an extensive new plan to tackle climate change and committed to meet the goals of the UN’s Paris Agreement 10 years ahead of schedule.[31]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to September 2019 Global Climate Strike.
  1. ^ a b c Feller, Madison (September 17, 2019). "The World Is Burning, and Teens Are Fighting: What to Know About the Global Climate Strike". ELLE. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Aimee (September 20, 2019). "More than 100,000 have gathered in Melbourne as the world begins climate demonstrations". CNN. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  3. ^ Milman, Oliver (September 20, 2019). "US to stage its largest ever climate strike: 'Somebody must sound the alarm'". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  4. ^ Tollefson, Jeff (September 18, 2019). "The hard truths of climate change — by the numbers". Nature. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  5. ^ Staff, MTV News. "Inside The Youth-Led Plan To Pull Off The Biggest Climate Strike So Far". MTV News. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  6. ^ Weise, Elizabeth (September 19, 2019). "'It's our future that's at stake': US students plan to skip school Friday to fight climate 'emergency'". USA Today.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b "Students walk out in global climate strike". BBC. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  8. ^ "'We're one, we're back': Pupils renew world climate action strike". www.aljazeera.com. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  9. ^ CNN, Isabelle Gerretsen. "Global Climate Strike: Record number of students walk out". CNN. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  10. ^ Haynes, Suyin (May 24, 2019). "Students From 1,600 Cities Just Walked Out of School to Protest Climate Change. It Could Be Greta Thunberg's Biggest Strike Yet". Time. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Farhoud, Nada; Bloom, Dan (September 20, 2019). "Global climate strike: Millions set to take part in 'largest climate protest in history'". Daily Mirror. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e Johnson, Jamie (September 20, 2019). "Global climate strike protesters arrested as Britain braces for weekend of chaos". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Global climate strike sees 'hundreds of thousands' of Australians rally across the country". ABC News. September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  14. ^ Mason, Melissa (September 20, 2019). "Over 20,000 Showed Up For The Climate Strike In Brissie & The Pics Are Madness". Pedestrian. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  15. ^ Reese, Ashley. "And Here We Have a 19-Year-Old Climate Activist Treating Joe Biden With Abject Skepticism [UPDATED]". The Slot. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  16. ^ "US Climate Strikes". Strike With Us. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  17. ^ Isham, Jonathan (August 30, 2019). "A teachable moment: educators must join students in demanding climate justice". The Guardian.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "United Electrical Becomes First US Industrial Union to Endorse Green New Deal and Global Climate Strike". Common Dreams. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  19. ^ "NEW: NextGen America Registers 10,560 Young Voters In Just Two Weeks". NextGen America. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "Global Climate Strike: Which companies are closing their doors?". NBC News. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  21. ^ "NYC schools to let 1.1 million students cut class for climate strike". NBC News. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  22. ^ Chen, Elaine. "Students and labor activists to rally downtown Friday to back international climate strike, Amazon walkout". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  23. ^ "NYC schools to let 1.1 million students cut class for climate strike". NBC News. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  24. ^ "Sign-on Letter: People of Faith for the Climate Strikes". actionnetwork.org. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  25. ^ "Health and medical professionals support the youth climate strikes | Health Care Without Harm". noharm-uscanada.org. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  26. ^ "Global Climate Strike: Which companies are closing their doors?". NBC News. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  27. ^ ago, Ryan Barwick|2 days. "Brands Are Closing Their Doors in Support of the Global Climate Strike". www.adweek.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "Press Release: Over 6,000 websites and major companies plan to join 'Digital Climate Strike' next week". Global Climate Strike → Sep. 20–27. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  29. ^ "Amazon employees will walk out over the company's climate inaction". Grist. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  30. ^ Clifford, Catherine (September 11, 2019). "Amazon employee on walkout for climate change: I was feeling 'hopeless,' 'ashamed' of my role there". CNBC. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  31. ^ Palmer, Annie (September 19, 2019). "Jeff Bezos unveils sweeping plan to tackle climate change". CNBC. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
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