Thousands of school pupils and students to take strike action in second climate change protest

Hundreds of students and school pupils across Scotland are to take part in a second global youth strike today in protest at inaction on climate change.

Eighteen locations across the country will see demonstrators gather, including outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s City Chambers.

It follows a mass demonstration last month, which saw thousands across the UK make their voices heard on the issue.

In Glasgow, over 300 people gathered in George Square, with similar numbers striking outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Across the UK, organisers Youth Strike 4 Climate said protests took place in more than 60 towns and cities, with an estimated 15,000 taking part.

Later today, strikers are set to gather outside schools, in the centre of towns and outside government buildings.

In Edinburgh, children will be marching from their schools to meet outside the Scottish Parliament, while in Glasgow, the strike will meet at George Square.

Each location expects over 400 people to attend, though organisers say this number could be much higher.

Holly Gillibrand, a 13-year-old from Fort William who will be joining the action, said:  “I’m not the sort of person who would consider breaking the rules in any way. But if we don’t strike and demand that our leaders take action, we’re not going to have a habitable planet to live on in the future”.

The global movement began in the wake of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s report in October 2018 that warned of the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, then 15, was inspired by the findings to demand action. She went on strike from school and sat outside the Swedish Parliament in protest.

She said her actions were a bid to get politicians to “prioritise the climate question, focus on the climate and treat it like a crisis”.

Thunberg, who was yesterday nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, inspired the Youth Strikes for Climate movement worldwide.

Over 1000 events are scheduled to take place worldwide tomorrow in support of the action.

Last month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted in support of the strikes, posting: “It’s a cause for optimism, in an often dark world, that young people are taking a stand on climate change.”

Edinburgh City Council agreed earlier this month that children absent in support of the strike on Friday March 15 will not be penalised for doing so as long as they have permission of parents or carers.

The Scottish Youth Strike for Climate says they recognise the support of these organisations while demanding that they do ‘exponentially more to stop climate chaos and ecological catastrophe.’