Thousands of students around the world are set to take a day off school and march through towns and cities on Friday (15^th March) to protest against climate change.

The Youth Strike 4 Climate in the UK follows action taken by 15,000 students in February calling on the Government to take stringent action on climate change.

They are inspired by Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old climate activist campaigning for changes to environmental policy in Sweden.

When and where is the Youth Strike 4 Climate taking place?

An estimated total of 64 towns and cities across the UK will see demonstrations from school and university students. 

But the demonstrations will not be limited to the UK, with students all over the world pledging to walk out of classes to fight for their cause.

What is the Youth Strike 4 Climate hoping to achieve?

The young activists have said they are driven by an “alarming lack of Government leadership on climate action in previous decades.”

Noga Levy-Rapoport, a 17-year-old pupil from Hammersmith, walked out of school in February and joined this environment activism. She found the experience “life-changing”. This is important in terms of a show of solidarity and sending a signal. We, the students, the young force in the UK, are here to make our voices heard and we are not going to stop until the authorities listen to us.

As the next demonstration approaches, Noga is predicting a much higher turnout. She is getting a massive response and the feedback from the strike was so positive. Nearly all of her schoolmates are likely to attend. 

Noga described air pollution as “incredibly concerning” and “so worrying to see,” citing the thousands of deaths every year which are linked in some way to filthy air.

A report from the University of Chicago last year showed that humans around the world are losing two years of life expectancy on average every single year because of air pollution.

To combat air pollution and global warming, Noga would like to see the UK Government implement a climate change plan that mirrors the Green New Deal put forward by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the US.

 Sources:

The Guardian

The Standard newspaper

References:

https://www.standard.co.uk/futurelondon/cleanair/school-strike-climate-change-uk-students-greta-thunberg-youth-strike-4-climate-activists-a4089591.html