Thousands of young climate change activists around the world have refused to go to school in recent weeks, and more strikes are planned, including a worldwide strike on March 15.
Among them is 22-year-old geography student Luisa Neubauer. Inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish climate activist described as one of the most influential teenagers of the year according to TIME magazine, she’s called on children and teenagers to take to the streets of Hamburg, Germany, and forego school in protest for action on climate change policy.
“It’s a great sign that the German movement has grown incredibly in the last months. With Greta here, it increases pressure on the government to act,” she told Euronews.
With so many German students on the streets, she believes that there is anger at the German government for missing its climate change targets.
Neubauer believes there’s “no satisfaction at all” with the government response since protests began.
“People misunderstand why we are striking. It’s not because of telling people when to eat meat and when not to. We are striking because we want the government to act”.
Thousands of students marched through Hamburg on Friday. The Climate Strike movement has spread across Europe and worldwide, with schoolchildren in the UK, Belgium, France, Kenya and Uganda foregoing school.
Lawmakers have joined in support of students who go to climate protests on Fridays. German MEP Martin Sonneborn has written a template apology for students to hand into their schools.
