Climate strikers around the world defy Covid restrictions and take to the streets to demand action

Global movement returns to the streets after year online

Activists take part in a strike in the Philippines (REUTERS)

Climate activists around the world will once again take to the streets as the Fridays For Future demonstrations are relaunched after a year where coronavirus restrictions have pushed them online.

With activists taking action in more than 60 countries including Bangladesh, the Philippines, Colombia, India, Germany, Russia, Australia and even on Antarctica, the loose global coalition of participants are calling for the climate crisis to be treated like an emergency and for world leaders to take immediate action.

Announcing the action, the movement’s founder, Greta Thunberg, wrote on Twitter: “Tomorrow we strike again in 62 countries all over the world! Online or in small numbers in the streets where the situation allows and in line with local corona restrictions.”

Spearheaded by Ms Thunberg, the global climate strike movement began in August 2018, when the Swedish activist – then 15 – began sitting outside parliament every school day for three weeks ahead of elections to demand action on the crisis.

She was later joined by other young Swedish activists, who then spurred on an international movement of students and activists calling for radical change on climate policy each Friday.

Although the movement has tried to keep the momentum up over the last year, with digital school strikes and catchy social media campaigns, the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have inevitably hindered its potency.

However, tackling the climate crisis has remained a priority for people despite throughout the pandemic.

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Majorities in all countries surveyed in a poll last October said that both the issues were major causes for concern, a poll by the Pew Research Centre found. A median of 69 per cent of respondents across 14 countries expressed the same level of fear about the spread of infectious disease and the climate crisis.

The mission statement on the movement’s page reads: “Those in power continue to only deliver vague and empty promises for far off dates that are much too late. What we need are not meaningless goals for 2050 or net-zero targets full of loopholes, but concrete and immediate action in-line with science.

“Our carbon budget is running out. The climate crisis is already here and will only get worse, so if we are to avoid the worst case scenarios, annual, short-term climate binding targets that factor in justice and equity have to be prioritised by the people in charge.”