Antinuclear

After thousands went on strike in December, even more are planning to join the 15 March event, inspired by a Swedish teenager.

How did the youth movement start?

In August last year, 16-year-old Greta Thunberg began leaving school each Friday and sitting outside Sweden’s parliament to call for stronger government action on climate change.

“She got a lot of attention and many politicians talked to her and listened to her [outside parliament],” politics expert Katrin Uba, from Sweden’s Uppsala University, told SBS News.

Ms Uba said there had been a recent level of fatigue around climate change action in young Swedes but Greta had reignited it.

The young activist quickly rose to fame, making global headlines in December with a speech at a UN climate meeting in Poland, and last month taking her message to the top corporate echelons at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

What are the students’ demands?

One of Greta’s goals is to focus minds on a UN conference in 2020 when countries need to present new plans for more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions cuts.

Recently upping the ante, she urged the European Union to double its planned greenhouse gas cuts.

“If the EU is to make its fair contribution to staying within the [Paris climate deal] carbon budget for a two-degree limit, it means a minimum of 80 per cent reduction by 2030,” she told the EU.

Politicians’ inaction “would be the greatest failure of human history and they will be remembered as the greatest villains of all time,” she said.

Students around the world followed, with school strikes being held in Germany, UK, France and New Zealand, as well as Australia.

Organisers are demanding Australia adopt 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030, no new investment in coal or gas, and the stopping of the Adani coal mine.

“We are striking from school to tell our politicians to take our futures seriously and treat climate change for what it is – a crisis,” campaign material says.

Are people listening?

Yes, according to Professor Mark Howden, the director of the Climate Change Institute at the Australian National University.

“Especially to Greta and other [organisers] in Europe. They are getting an audience with the UN, with the EU, which is extraordinary,” he said.

“The ability to speak bluntly to those audiences is almost without precedent for a non-government body. So I actually think we’re seeing something new here in the relationship between the public and these institutions.”

While in Australia, Professor Howden said the students’ messages could not be easily ignored because “as far as I can recall, this is the biggest schoolkid-level protest that I’ve ever seen”.

Will it have an impact in Australia?

The government hasn’t exactly been receptive to the students’ action.

NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes recently warned students and teachers against joining climate change rallies planned for 15 March, a statement Greta said “belongs in a museum”.

While in the leadup to the December strike, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said “what we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools”.

And Resources Minister Matt Canavan said, “the best thing you’ll learn about going to a protest is how to join the dole queue”…….. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-young-climate-activists-to-strike-again-and-people-are-listening