(ANSA-AP) - BERLIN, 15 MAR - Students in more than 1,000
cities worldwide are planning to skip class Friday to take to
the streets in protest over their governments' failure to act
against global warming.
The coordinated 'school strike' was inspired by 16-year-old
Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who began holding solitary
demonstrations outside the Swedish parliament last year. Since
then, the protests have snowballed.
This week's rallies are expected to be one of the biggest
international actions against climate change yet. The protests
are scheduled in about 100 countries, from New Zealand to the
United States.
While some politicians have criticized the students, saying
they should be spending their time in school and not on the
streets, scientists have backed the protests, with thousands
signing petitions in support of the students in Britain, Finland
and Germany.
Luisa Neubauer, one of the Berlin group organizing Fridays
for Future, said politicians should take note of the young. "For
the European elections in May, we're urging everyone to th ink
about whether they want to give their vote to a party that
doesn't have a plan for the future and the climate," she said.
(ANSA-AP).
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