Youth Climate Strike - LAist

Youth Climate Strike | LAist

Youth Climate Strike

Topline:

Young people in L.A will march in the streets on Friday, joining others across the world. Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles organizers say they expect some 500 young people to rally outside L.A. City Hall at noon to protest the lack of action they say is needed to address the climate crisis and save lives.

The backstory: The activists held their first youth climate strike in 2019 and it has happened every year since, although COVID slowed recent attendance. The movement was inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who says the climate crisis is especially devastating to the world’s young people.

Why it matters: Globally, this summer was the hottest since records began back in 1880, according to NASA, in large part due to 200 years of carbon and methane pollution spewed into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Despite goals and promises set by world leaders, global greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. The science is clear that it means we’re in for a hotter, more extreme weather reality for at least the rest of this century if global climate pollution isn’t significantly cut by 2030 or soon after.

What they’re asking for: Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles organizers state in a public document that they’re calling on the local, state and federal governments, as well as the L.A. Department of Water and Power and L.A. Unified School District, to, among other things, declare a climate emergency and rapidly scale up efforts, such as ending oil drilling, planting trees, greening schools, improving public transit, and building affordable, climate-friendly housing.

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