School Strike 4 Climate, September 25th – how you can help from home
It seems like a lifetime ago that we gathered in our cities and towns on a sunny Friday afternoon, and marched alongside school children holding banners begging our government to act on the climate crisis that puts their futures at risk. Although it wasn’t the first “School Strike 4 Climate Action” rally, last September’s rally was unprecedented in its student-led approach, with young people around the world standing up in Greta Thunberg-inspired solidarity.
Since the 2019 School Strike 4 Climate action rally (which saw an estimated 300,000 people take to the Australian streets [1]), our country has faced its most destructive bushfire season to date [2] and a global pandemic has changed the fabric of our existence. But while many of us (understandably) are focused on staying healthy inside our homes, the climate crisis is still posing a threat to future generations.
A recent decision from the government to invest further in the gas industry to “help Australia’s economy bounce back better and stronger” [3] demonstrates how important it is for society to continue to fight for a safe transition to renewable energy.
“2020 has seen us ravaged by climate-change-exacerbated bushfires and a halted economy. That’s why we fully support the students’ demands that no public funding should be allocated to gas and other fossil fuel projects.”
“Our nation’s money should instead be invested into Australia’s future to build the foundations for a planet worth retiring into. It should help fast track innovation and support diverse industries. It should set in most Australia’s transition to clean, renewable energy. We have a chance to make this happen and we’re proud of the students pushing for change.”
While this year’s School Strike 4 Climate Action won’t be taking place at the physical scale it did last year (thank you COVID), the global day of climate action (this Friday, September 25th) is still a chance for us to unite and call for change.
The team at School Strike 4 Climate action are encouraging Australians to take the following actions:
- Organise COVID-safe gatherings of 10-20 people, and register any actions online at schoolstrike4climate.com
- Share the hashtag #FundOurFutureNotGas to spread awareness
- Join the live online rally (which will be streamed live onto YouTube and Facebook from 6-7.30pm AEST on September 25th, and will involve the sharing of stories and more information on how we can help from our homes)
By pledging your support for the School Strike 4 Climate Action initiative, you’ll be endorsing the demands for public spending to be directed away from destructive industries, and instead towards:
- Resourcing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led solutions that guarantee land rights and care for country
- The creation of jobs that fast-track solutions to the climate crisis and help communities recover
- Projects that transition our economy and communities to 100% renewable energy by 2030, through expanded public ownership
Since we can’t get together on a mass scale this year, it’s even more important for us to take individual action to encourage our government to make sustainable decisions.
Details and imagery retrieved from School Strike 4 Climate Australia
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