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Ahead Global Climate Strikes, strikers say dirty fossil fuel party over

Climate strikers and experts have called on the world to stand together for the climate strikes to safeguard the planet’s future.

Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg upon her arrival in New York City. In the company of other youth strikers, she will lead the September 20 strike in NYC

The disclosure was made at an online press conference held on Thursday, September 12, 2019.

“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,” said 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,” stated 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 10 years. Millions of people in the global South are already experiencing the devastating effects of extreme weather, rising sea levels and hunger,” submitted 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,” contended 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,” noted Doreen Stabinksy, a scientist.

The climate strikes movement, which was inspired by teenager Greta Thurnberg, is said to have 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 Friday, September 20 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 September 23, which will gather world leaders 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.

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