BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2019) Thousands of young people worldwide on September 20 started the Global Climate Strike, marking the third time in a year when youngsters from Fridays For Future movement ask everybody to stop working on Friday to protest against the slow rate of CO2 emissions reduction and destruction of nature and biodiversity.�
In 2019, Fridays for Future movement, which started in 2018 following the call by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who protested against the lack of climate action in front of the Swedish parliament every day for three weeks during school hours, gained momentum in Western Europe and the United States with token strikes in other parts of the world.
Notably, demonstrations organized by activists on weekends were much less popular, unlike the strikes, where charismatic young leaders � Thunberg, who at the age of 16 took the role of a prophet of doom for the planet, and other prominent young activists like Belgium's Anuna De Wever and Adelaide Charlier � appeared.
Almost all these youngsters are children of green activists, who have taught their kids to take care of nature and inspired them for climate action to curb carbon emissions, believed to be the reason for global warming or, more generally, climate change. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, the world should become carbon neutral by 2050 to contain average warming at 2 degrees Celsius and limit it to 1.5 degrees.
OVER 5,200 CLIMATE STRIKES AROUND THE WORLD
More than 5,200 climate strikes will be held in 156 countries around the world with participation of not only young people, but also their parents and grandparents. The New York demonstration will probably be the most impressive one, with 1.1 million people, mainly students from 1,800 public schools, expected to take to the city's streets. This is particularly noteworthy, since the strike comes ahead of UN Climate Action Summit 2019, which will start in New York on September 23 and gather more than 100 heads of state.
The third edition of the Global Climate Strike also seems to gain popularity in Asia � from Australia, where 300,000 people have already joined the strike, to Bangkok, where young activist Ralyn "Lilly" Satidtanasarn walked in front of demonstrators.
Moreover, the action unites thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGO) from all over the world, both global and regional ones. Well-known green lobbies, such as Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund and Avaaz, as well as smaller Workers For Climate, Teachers For Climate, Climate Express, European Environmental Bureau and many others have supported the strike that will be held under Thunberg's slogan "Our house is on fire � no time to waste."
Charlier told Sputnik amid climate demonstrations in Brussels, which started earlier in the day, that the climate movement has recently gained momentum in Belgium and called on people all over the world to join strikes in their cities.
"The Belgian climate movement is stronger than ever! This strike will be the kick-off for an entire action week in our country, three days ahead of the UN climate summit in New York. Here in Europe, we are sliding behind the objectives that were set by politicians themselves! The objective for 2030 is 35 percent CO2 emissions cut. We need to do much more to reach that goal! So, join us in the demonstrations that will follow every week this autumn," Charlier said.
The activist added that organizers of the strike in Brussels expected that about 15,000 people would join the action this Friday, but the number was much smaller due to the presence of the police on the streets, noting that "we are far from the peak of 70,000 demonstrators in September 2018."
NO ORDINARY SOCIAL DEMONSTRATION
Contrary to social demonstrations organized by trade unions or political forces, which often lead to violence, participants of the climate strike in Brussels are peaceful, predominantly smiling and carrying various funny slogans. There are many well-educated persons, who came to support their adolescent children in their willingness to combat climate change.
Francoise Berlaymont, a grandma of 76 years old and former teacher, told Sputnik that the main aim of people, who joined the strike, was to push politicians ahead in taking action on environmental issues amid serious disasters, taking place all over the world.
"We cannot keep our arms crossed, as we see that the planet is sick. The biodiversity is in free fall. The Amazon is burning, and we are witnessing the same in Central Africa. The Indonesian rainforest is being destroyed by palm oil producing trees. The last orangutans are threatened with extinction. Will we see animals in zoos in the future? Our politicians will only have the courage to do something, if we are strong in pushing them ahead. I am realistic about them. So let's do it," Berlaymont said.�
Gilles Van Heuverzwijn, a secondary school teacher and keen ornithologist, expressed concern over extinction of birds and insects due to the increased use of pesticides, adding that detrimental agricultural practices should be urgently halted.
"I accompany the students of my school from Namur. We have come here by train this morning. You know, birds of open fields are disappearing very rapidly. A lark flying higher and higher and singing? It is symbol of spring ... This is finished in Belgium. They have all been killed by the newest generations of pesticides, that also kill all insects. Our countryside has become a silent desert. We urgently need to change our agricultural methods of production and re-establish biodiversity," he told Sputnik.
The Global Climate Strike is set to become an additional impetus to the government to take climate action, Margo Van Hoeymissen, a student of the University of Brussels recently back form an Erasmus stay in Norway, told Sputnik.
"Even if we are less numerous than at previous demonstrations, the message remains strong and continues to irrigate the population. The idea of launching the 'strike for the climate' is a warning to the government that they really need to do something! Trade unions are here today and the message to politicians and companies alike is that it could become a social movement," the student said.
Jeanne Pirson, a student, who came from Liege and has starting her first university year noted that adults should also join young people in the global climate movement to achieve better results, stressing that there is a "need to unleash mass resistance."
Etienne Mayeur, who came from Rebecq municipality said that it was important to keep water pure and stop polluting the environment, as well as protect the world's biodiversity.
"I am a normal citizen and I am really stricken when I travel on holidays to see the lack of respect for the environment, the pollution of surface waters, the plastic residues on all beaches in the world, even the most remote ones. It is a climate issue, but also an issue of biodiversity and keeping water pure. There is a lot to do," he pointed out.
The climate coalition is actively but discreetly supported by green parties in Western Europe, whose popularity among the population is increasing. Each election in Germany shows The Greens reaching record levels, even becoming the second or third party in many states. In France, about 10 percent of the people vote for the greens, and they also are very strong in the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxemburg and Belgium.
