Fridays for Future – school strikes against global warming

Fridays for Future – a global movement

Every Friday, instead of going to school they go on strike to campaign for better climate protection. The Fridays for Future school strikes have developed into a global movement. The climate strike movement began, however, with just one girl: Greta Thunberg.

The 16-year-old from Sweden has been going on strike every Friday for months to campaign for genuine climate protection. The climate activist has been joined by thousands of school pupils the world over, who demonstrate under the motto #FridaysforFuture. They are demanding that politicians listen to what science is telling us about the climate, to stick to the goals of the Paris Agreement, and to take decisive measures to halt global warming at 1.5 degrees.

Fridays for Future in Germany

The Greta effect has taken Germany by storm, too: Each week, tens of thousands of schoolchildren take to the streets. On 29 March alone, around 20,000 predominantly young people demonstrated at a “Fridays for Future” climate change protest in Berlin. Parents organized their own section under the motto “Parents for Future” and supported the protests, while around 20,000 scientists – “Scientists for Future” – from Germany, Austria and Switzerland put their names to a statement and attest: The schoolchildren are right.

Be it in Berlin, Munich or Hamburg – the young woman at the head of the growing movement in Germany is called Luisa Neubauer. She organizes the “Fridays for Future” school strikes here.

So who is actually joining Luisa and Greta and marching for greater climate protection during the global strikes? To find out, research groups from nine European countries carried out surveys among the protesters.

Who is behind “Fridays for Future” in Germany?

For the German activists at “Fridays for Future”, climate protection is not going anywhere near far enough. Here you can read about what drives the young climate campaigners in Germany and the success they have had.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also welcomes the initiative because, she says, it will only be possible to achieve the climate protection goals with a certain degree of restraint within society. There has also been criticism.

The responses amongst German politicians to “Fridays for Future”

The “Fridays for Future” movement has triggered a controversial debate about the national climate goals among the German public. What was the trigger? What is the “Fridays for Future” movement actually calling for? What do the energy supply figures tell us? Is it realistic to withdraw from coal-fired power generation after withdrawing from nuclear power?

You can find the answers here.

Study: How important is climate protection to the Germans?

Climate change, its consequences, and possible solutions

Climate change has long been a real threat. The impact of global warming is immense and can be globally quantified. Germany is therefore helping regions all over the world to counter the consequences of global warming. Three examples.

On the UN Security Council Germany is also emphasising the issue of climate protection. With good reason. An expert explains in an interview why climate change represents a threat to security.

Click here to go to the interview.

One country alone cannot solve the problem, however. We need global answers: In May, for example, representatives from 35 countries came together for the Petersberg Climate Dialogue, and in June UN climate experts met in Bonn for a ten-day climate conference to lay the foundations for the next global summit in Chile..

It’s not only politicians, however, who are seeking global warming solutions. As part of the competition “Ausgezeichnete Orte im Land der Ideen” (“Outstanding Places in the Land of Ideas”), each year the “Deutschland – Land der Ideen” initiative presents awards to innovative answers to social issues. These include ideas for climate protection. Proving yourself to be a climate hero as part of a game and using data flows for heating: Here you'll find some innovative concepts for climate protection from Germany.

Elsewhere, a Munich-based entrepreneur has declared war on plastic waste in our seas, and his concept is already in use in Asia. So how does it work? You can find the answer here.

But that’s not all, of course: Ten things Germany is doing for the environment.

Now it’s your turn! How well do you know your stuff when it comes to protecting the environment? Test your knowledge in our quiz.

Would you like to know more about Fridays for Future and climate protection in Germany? We publish regular posts on this topic on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

© www.deutschland.de

You would like to receive regular information about Germany? Subscribe here: