Fed up with the lack of climate action, young people led a worldwide climate strike that occurred on Friday, September 20, 2019, just ahead of the UN Climate Summit. “The Cut” in New York Magazine reported that it was organized by eight national youth-led groups: Earth Uprising, International Youth Council, Youth Climate Strike, Extinction Rebellion, Future Coalition, Zero Hour, the Sunrise Movement, and Earth Guardians. This strike is part of a growing movement spurred by the activism of young people, most notably by Greta Thunberg who is participating in the UN Climate Summit on September 23. Started in November 2015, the movement has recently picked up strength with strikes in March, May, June, August, and September of 2019.
Young people were not the only ones involved. Employees from Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon were among those who participated in the strike. Some cities even created Eventbrite tickets to participate. Patagonia, Burton, and Ben & Jerry’s closed with Ben & Jerry’s closing its plants in both the US and the Netherlands. This worldwide strike echoed the same message of Climate Action now!
Global Climate Strike created a worldwide strike map that highlights strikes occurring worldwide from Sept. 20-27, linked here.
Tune into the UN Climate Summit here to hear each country's policies and plans to address the climate crisis.