September 2019 climate strikes

The September 2019 climate strikes, also known as the Global Week for Future, were a string of protests and strikes that took place all over the world as a demonstration against global inaction related to climate change. The event took place between September 20 and September 27, 2019. More than 150 countries participated in the strikes at more than 4,500 locations across the world. The strikes coincided with the United Nations Climate Summit that occurred on September 23, 2019. The climate strikes emerged out of a series of school strikes demanding action to address climate change, which in turn were inspired by the words and actions of teenage Swedish climate activist Great Thunberg. According to media outlets, more than six million people attended the first and second waves of climate strike events around the globe. Although the claim could not be confirmed, the protests are believed to be the largest climate strikes in history. More than 250,000 people participated in the strike in New York City alone, where Thunberg addressed attendees with a rousing speech. Thousands of scientists and academics across the world announced their support of the strike as well. Following initial demonstrations on September 20, a second wave of protests swept the globe on September 27 before concluding that day.

Background

The 2019 September climate strikes were inspired by a series of school protests aimed at inciting action towards climate change. The first coordinated protest took place on March 15, 2019, when more than 1.6 million students from 133 countries staged a school walk out to demand action against climate change. The school walk outs were inspired by fifteen-year-old Swedish activist Great Thunberg, who staged a solo strike against climate change inaction in August 2018 and protested outside of Sweden’s parliament with a sign reading “school strike for climate change.” Thunberg demanded that Sweden align with the goals of the Paris Agreement, an initiative designed to engage the entire world in a rigorous effort to combat climate change. Thunberg’s actions inspired a climate strike movement that quickly swept Europe, Australia, the United States, Canada, and other parts of the world. The movement was alternately known as Fridays for Future or School Strike for Climate.

School strikes continued over the next few months. In May 2019, hundreds of thousands of students participated in walk outs in 1,664 cities across 125 countries around the world. The strike was scheduled to occur during the 2019 European Parliament election in an effort to encourage people to vote for politicians who have pledged to tackle climate change. The school strikes were primarily organized by young people in tandem with several other youth-led environmental movements worldwide. In the United States, a group of young activists known as the Sunrise Movement began lobbying Congress for better policies regarding climate action, calling for a Green New Deal that garnered support from several prominent legislators.

Student-led demonstrations received support from a number of leading thinkers and activists including Canadian writers Margaret Atwood and Naomi Klein and American environmental activist Bill McKibben. Thousands of scientists and academics also pledged their support to the movement, with more than two hundred academics issuing an open letter of support announcing their solidarity with the demonstrations in the Guardian. A third worldwide climate strike was soon in the works, with organizers deciding to hold events on the week of September 20 through September 27. These dates were chosen to coincide with United Nations Youth Climate Summit on September 21 and the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23. September 27 is also the anniversary of the publishing of the 1962 book Silent Spring, an environmental science book believed by many to inspire the environmentalist movement.

Overview

The September 2019 climate strikes kicked off on September 20 in hundreds of cities across the world. Student invited adults to join in the protests this time, requesting participants to hold strikes where able. The wave of strikes stretched all over the world from the Pacific Islands to Australia to Southeast Asia and Africa and westward into Europe and the Americas. An estimated 185 countries participated in the global event at more than four thousand locations across the globe. Each location often focused on regional climate issues, such as rising sea levels in the Solomon Islands, air and plastic waste pollution in India, coal expansion in Australia, and toxic waste in South Africa. The strikes’ main message was unified, however, with demonstrators demanding an urgent move by governments to cut global emissions and stabilize the climate.

The seven days of protests took place alongside the UN Climate Summit in New York. The gathering addressed the need for immediate climate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop the mean global temperature from rising to dangerous levels. The Summit emphasized the need to ensure mean global temperature does not rise more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. The climate strike called attention to the summit and was designed to put pressure on leaders involved in the decision making process. Activists noted that carbon emissions rose to a record high in 2018 despite warnings from the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They also stressed the need for action within the next decade if the planet has any chance at limiting climate change catastrophe.

In New York, where the Summit occurred, education officials gave all 1.1 million students in its schools permission to attend the climate strike. Thunberg spoke at the rally in New York, directing her words at the students in attendance as she called for them to take charge of their planet’s future. Estimates counted more than 250,000 people in attendance at the New York protests, with smaller demonstrations taking place in many other American cities.

Bibliography

Barclay, Eliza, and Brian Resnick “How Big Was the Global Climate Strike? 4 Million People, Activists Estimate.” Vox, 22 Sept. 2019, www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/9/20/20876143/climate-strike-2019-september-20-crowd-estimate. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

“Global Climate Strikes September 2019.” Friends of the Earth, friendsoftheearth.uk/climate-change/global-climate-strikes-september-2019. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Haynes, Suyin. “Students From 1,600 Cities Just Walked Out of School to Protest Climate Change. It Could Be Greta Thunberg’s Biggest Strike Yet.” Time, time.com/5595365/global-climate-strikes-greta-thunberg/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Laville, Sandra, and Jonathan Watts. “Across the Globe, Millions Join Biggest Climate Protest Ever.” Guardian, 20 Sept. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/21/across-the-globe-millions-join-biggest-climate-protest-ever. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Milman, Oliver. “US to Stage Its Largest Ever Climate Strike: ‘Somebody Must Sound the Alarm.’” Guardian, www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/20/climate-strikes-us-students-greta-thunberg. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

“School Climate Strike Children’s Brave Stand Has Our Support.” Guardian, 13 Feb. 2019, www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/13/school-climate-strike-childrens-brave-stand-has-our-support. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

“School Strike for Climate: Protests Staged Around the World.” BBC, 24 May 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-48392551. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

Thunberg, Greta. “Young People Have Led the Climate Strikes. Now We Need Adults to Join Us Too.” Guardian, 23 May 2019, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/23/greta-thunberg-young-people-climate-strikes-20-september. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.