Around the globe students have skipped school, Friday 15th 2019 and they are making a stand in the fight against climate change.

From London to India and the Netherlands to Turkey, students are asking not only their governments but governments around the world to take action and help deter the progression of global warming.

Over 123 countries and 2000 events have been held by students in the fight against climate change.

“School can wait but climate change won’t,” said eleven-year-old Atlas Sarrafoglu who organized a strike in a public park in Istanbul, Turkey. Sarrafoglu explains “it was you adults who cut the trees and destroyed our forest.” He lists the ways that the problem does not lie with the new generation it is a result of what adults have done themselves to the plant.

Students gathered by the hundreds outside of the Houses of Parliament in London, waving banners saying “make earth cool again” and “system change not climate change.”

Sixteen-year-old Alice Smith, told CNN that she doesn’t understand how anyone isn’t

scared of climate change.      She touches on the fact that it doesn’t matter what ethnicity, sexuality or religion you are; we will all be effected by climate change, and at this point we have roughly 12 years till the point of no return.

Every Friday ten-year-old Lilly Prat skips school in protest the Dutch government for their failure to lessen carbon emissions.

Spending this Friday outside the Dutch Parliament along with other climate change protesters.

Prat stated, ” Climate change will effect us very much in Holland because (the country) is below sea level. (Extreme) weather is affecting crops already.”

Judges of the Netherlands have pushed the the Dutch government to accelerate the rate of carbon cuts by imposing a carbon tax on companies.

Cities across India had students joining the worldwide protests, sighting how rising sea levels will impact agriculture and degrade groundwater quality. By protesting the students hope to force the government into making environmental changes that will help slow further damage to the environment.

In addition to protests around the world, major oil and gas industries are sued in cities from San Francisco to New York in order to force such companies into taking responsibility for climate change and doing their part in preventing further damage to the environment.

” I feel that the lawsuit is more direct and effective because it is hard data that shows the cost of fossil fuels, instead of just protesting, it actually holds the government and companies accountable,” said AP environmental science teacher Ms. Fisher .

“I don’t like putting out my opinion even though I teach environmental science,  because I like students to form their own ideas and believe in them whole-heartily because they believe that not because its what Mrs. Fisher thinks.”

No matter the method of accountability, it is clear that the world is ready to see a change in the way that governments around the globe handle our changing environment. Students voicing their opinions through protests and other methods such as social media are a great start into creating real change.