- Fridays for the Future report a record breaking 3,459 events total in 120 countries
- 1000 companies have joined the digital climate strikes
- Amazon employees pledge to join strikes
- UK’s TUC supports a 30 minute stoppage on the 20th
At an online press conference held on the 12th of September climate strikers and experts call on the world to stand together for the climate strikes to safeguard the planet’s future.
“We are calling on everyone to join us, we need a truly diverse and multi-generational movement, made of people from all ages and backgrounds, not just the youth. We need adults to stand up and call for action and to support young people and do things that young people can’t do. We should be fighting for our future.” Jerome Foster II, youth climate activist
“The protection of the environment should not be a movement or a moment in time, it should be part of our culture. The youth are working towards this goal, and we need everyone to join us.” Xiye Bastida, Fridays for Future, New York
“The dirty fossil fuel party is over, we now have to clean up the mess. Whoever caused the biggest mess, has the most responsibility. Rich polluting countries must kick their addiction to fossil fuel and create a total transformation in ten years. Millions of people in the global South are already experiencing the devastating effects of extreme weather, rising sea levels and hunger.” Harjeet Singh, Global Lead on Climate Change, ActionAid International
“The good news is the fossil industry is beginning to lose the fight, we need to replace them now to keep temperature below 1.5 degrees. September 20th to 27th will be the biggest climate mobilisation we have ever seen, the world is going to demonstrate that it is ready for a change.” Bill McKibben, author and founder of 350.org
“I spend a lot of time very close to the realities of the climate crisis watching impacts expand and magnify and I know that the youth of today face a frightening time. And it’s why thousands of scientists around the world are going to be striking with them on Friday the 20th September.” Doreen Stabinksy, Scientist
The climate strikes movement, which was inspired by teenager Greta Thurnberg, has spread rapidly across the world in the last 12 months. Strikers are demanding that governments step up to take urgent action to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown, and the only way to do it is by phasing out fossil fuels, and beginning the urgent transition to a sustainable, renewable energy powered future with climate justice and equity at its core.
Huge demonstrations are expected across the globe with numbers surpassing the March 2019 record of 1.6 million people.
In New York City, the strike on September 20th will be led by youth strikers including Greta Thunberg, who arrived in the city to take part in the UNSG summit. The weeklong movement will surround the UN Climate Summit being held on the 23rd of September, which will gather world leaders in an attempt to accelerate real actions to implement the Paris Agreement and meet the climate challenge – top of their agenda should be phasing out fossil fuels.
Whilst the UN meets to discuss taking urgent action on climate breakdown, activists are planning to target the global fossil fuel CEOs conference that will be taking place in New York on the same day as the UNSG summit.
Full recording of the press conference is here
##
Further Information
350.org is supporting the global climate strikes. We have a large list of strikers and influencers from across the globe who are available for quotes, interviews and background information. We will also have videographers and photographers in key locations across the globe and can provide images and footage for press (see locations below).
Locations
ASIA
New Delhi – India
Jakarta – Indonesia
Bengkulu – Indonesia
Yogyakarta – Indonesia
Bali – Indonesia
Bandung – Indonesia
Aceh – Indonesia
Semarang – Indonesia
Surabaya – Indonesia
Malang – Indonesia
Kupang – Indonesia
Medan – Indonesia
Pekanbaru – Indonesia
Manila – Philippine
Tokyo – Japan
Nepal
Pakistan
Singapore
Hong Kong
Cambodia
Vietnam
NORTH AMERICA
New York – US
Washington DC – US
San Francisco – US
Oregon, Portland – US
CENTRAL & LATIN AMERICA
Mexico City – Mexico
Bogotá – Colombia
Santiago – Chile
OCEANIA & PACIFIC
Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, – Australia
Suva – Fiji
South Tarawa and Betio Islands – Kiribati
Bourail – New Caledonia
Auckland and Wellington – New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Apia – Samoa
Western Province – Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Funafuti – Tuvalu
Port Vila – Vanuatu
EUROPE
London – UK
Berlin – Germany
Paris – France
EECCA
Kyiv – Ukraine
St Petersburg – Russia
AFRICA
Johannesburg – South Africa
San Pedro – Côte D’Ivoire
Nairobi – Kenya