ACTION ALERT: Join the Planet’s Youth and Strike for Climate Protection
(September 13, 2019) — Over the next few days, millions of people will be hitting the streets around the world to demand an end to the age of fossil fuels.
We are out of patience, out of time, and out of options. We need everyone everywhere — workers, teachers, parents, neighbors — to spread the word and join the youth leading this fight in the streets for climate justice.
Ready, set, go! There are almost 700 actions happening around the country on September 20th. Tell everyone you’ll be out of the office, school, home or wherever you are with our downloadable videos — and ask others to join you.
350.org is building a global climate movement. You can connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and text 350 to 83224 to get important mobile action alerts. Become a sustaining donor to keep this movement strong and growing. Looking for other ways to get involved? Check out our map to see if there’s a local 350 group or event near you.
WHY STRIKE?
Most of America’s greenhouse gas emissions come from burning oil, coal and gas, also known as fossil fuels. These greenhouse gas emissions, and the fossil fuel billionaires responsible for them, are pushing our climate to the brink of collapse and hurting our communities in real time. This is especially true for those of us who are poor, people of color, and otherwise marginalized.
All forms of inequality get magnified by climate change. From housing to healthcare, everything gets worse when a wildfire or hurricane is at your doorstep, or when oil and gas billionaires come to town to build a pipeline or a refinery in your backyard. While we suffer, our elected officials keep pandering to the billionaires responsible for this crisis.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Working together, we can take action within our communities and across differences to build a more just and sustainable future. For over a year, youth across America have been catalyzing the work to do just that. On September 20th, all of us are called to join young people in the streets to demand climate justice for all. In the week that follows, we’ll continue to mobilize to create the changes, and the solutions, we know we need.
OVER 1,000 WEBSITES AND MAJOR COMPANIES PLAN TO JOIN ‘DIGITAL CLIMATE STRIKE’
Tumblr, Kickstarter, WordPress, Imgur, BitTorrent, are among the companies to support the Global Climate Strike.
(September 11, 2019) — Over 1,000 websites and companies are joining the Digital Climate Strike on September 20th, in response to the call-to-action from young people around the world.
Modeled after massive online protests like the SOPA strike and the Internet Slowdown for net neutrality, the Digital Climate Strike will raise visibility about the upcoming youth-led global climate strike. Many of these largest websites in the world are participating, such as Imgur, Tumblr, and WordPress, by spreading the word on social media, donating ad space, or putting banners on their websites to announce the strikes. Some companies, like Burton and Patagonia, will be taking more aggressive action, such as shutting down both their physical and online stores on September 20th and encouraging employees and customers to strike.
Websites can join by contacting Fight for the Future or by visiting the campaign landing page. See the landing page for the campaign here.
“From the SOPA blackout to net neutrality we’ve used the Internet to mobilize people on an unprecedented scale to achieve grassroots victories that were previously thought to be impossible,” said Evan Greer, Deputy Director of Fight for the Future, a digital rights organization that has been working with an ad hoc coalition of environmental groups, tech workers, and others to organize the Digital Climate Strike. “Politicians and lobbyists want us to think that solving the climate crisis is impossible. We need to channel the power of the Internet to turn the impossible into the inevitable. Our future depends on it.”
Youth around the world have been striking from school on Fridays, demanding action to stop the global climate crisis. These youth are calling for a mass mobilization on Friday, September 20th — three days ahead of a United Nations emergency climate summit — to move world governments to take emergency action and end the fossil fuel era. Over 1,700 strikes are planned in more than 150 countries to disrupt business as usual, and strikers are calling on everyone to join them.
While some companies, like Seventh Generation, Patagonia, and Atlassian are encouraging their employees to participate in the global strikes, many of the largest companies like Microsoft and Amazon have stayed silent. In response, their workers, however, have taken on their own initiative to walk out on September 20th to demonstrate their solidarity with youth strikers. In the case of Amazon, at least part of their action is directed at the company itself for its inaction to address the climate crisis.
“Climate change is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced, and it will affect our generation the most,” said Alexandria Villaseñor, school striker and founder of Earth Uprising. “That’s why at the global climate strike on September 20th, youth must lead the way and demand climate action NOW from our world leaders!”
“This is the tipping point. Today’s youth are not fooled: their futures are being stolen before their very eyes by the fossil fuel industry and corrupt politicians. We’re joining them because we refuse to be bystanders while our children are left with an unlivable planet by our inaction,” said Shuo Peskoe-Yang, with Fight for the Future. “There is no room for neutrality. The children are calling on us, and the time to act is now.”
“Climate change is affecting everyone and it’s imperative that we continue to create and push those conversations,” said Bridget Kyeremateng, Tumblr’s Social Impact Lead. “Tumblr’s passionate and driven community is always eager to find ways that they can get involved in their communities and the Climate Strike is a great opportunity to take issues off the platform and onto the streets.”
“In the digital era, the internet has democratized the connection between people all over the world. Similarly, the climate crisis also knows no borders. It affects everyone and is now the most urgent challenge of our time,” said Sarah Wilbore, Digital Engagement Director at 350.org. “We only have a few years to change things, and this will only be possible with participation and pressure from everyone: civil society, business and governments. We have a joint responsibility to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and we can’t delay any further, it must start now.”
“Climate change is disrupting business as usual for everyone. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or how big your organization is. Our team cares deeply about this and our clients rely on us for responsible technology,” said Tim Frick CEO of Mightybytes. “Participating in the digital strike is one way for Mightybytes to let people know that addressing climate change is a priority for us.”
Principles for NGO Engagement with School Strikes
School strikes / Friday for Future have spread all over the world recently. This is an organic grass root mainly youth-led mobilisation, which has sparkled what is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) global climate mobilisation to date.
Young organizers have regularly asked NGOs and other well-established climate organisations for their support — either directly or by asking them to do their own share in mobilising adults. They’re now explicitly asking us to mobilize this September.
This wave of mobilisation is as amazing as it is fragile — its organic nature, the fact that it’s led by (very) young people, the absence of a large form of centralization, the DIY culture and the zero-budget approach are both one of the reasons for its success and one of its main weaknesses if it is to last and trigger the change it is seeking.
It is thus important for NGOs and other organisations to approach their own participation in this wave with a lot of care — it is about supporting this moment, not capturing its visibility, co-opting its members/leaders, etc.
The following guidelines are inspired by the Jemez principles. The idea isn’t for each organisation involved in the September mobilisation to formally sign-up to these guidelines. This document rather aims at defining the spirit of our collaborative effort.
We won’t brand the School Strikes momentum
We might have contributed to create the conditions for such a momentum to emerge. But the day-to-day organising work that led to this amazing wave of mobilisation is being handled by young people within their own networks. Some of them might be members of our organisations, but they’re not organising under any umbrella. They’re doing this under their own capacity. We’re committed to respect that – and won’t try to brand this mobilisation, by putting our logos, our spokes, our specific campaigns at the front.
We will support school strikes from behind
We will (learn to) stand back. We will stay at the back — not because we like to control things from outside, but because we want to be good allies. Supporting building the momentum where it is needed, yet leaving the youth be at the center, as well as at the margins, of this wave of activism: this isn’t an opportunity to build our membership or our lists, but a historical moment, led by the youth. We’re building this mobilisation together — we’re going to step up, and do our share of the mobilisation, but we will proceed with a lot of care and permanent consultation and discussions with school strikes organizers.
We will be transparent and accountable for our decisions
We don’t want to capture the moment, yet we don’t want to build a hidden locus of power. Henceforth we will report regularly on our conversations and our actions regarding school strikes on the various channels that organisers use to coordinate themselves (Discord working groups, Telegram groups, etc.). We will obviously be accountable for the consequences of our actions, intended or unintended.
We are committed to dignity, respect and equal opportunities
Everyone should have an equal opportunity to contribute to discussions on our role and to challenge us on our decisions and actions. We will treat everyone with respect, including those who disagree with us, who criticize us, and won’t try to promote or push those who only agree with us.
We will share our experience
We will support organisers with our experience: sharing lessons from our past successes, and most importantly, failures. Based on demands coming from school strikes organisers, we will organise trainings — on strategies, communication, organising, etc. — through webinars, guides, but potentially also face-to-face opportunities.
We will promote diversity, strengthen equity and nurture inclusion
We’re committed to make this moment an opportunity to intentionally build a broader climate movement, and to support its diverse voices and stories.
While the center of the attention of the initial mobilisation has been Europe (and more generally the global North), it’s becoming global. We’re committed to support activities, voices and projects based in the global South; as well as outreach and support going to those who are too often invisible, yet are the frontline of this fight, in the global North.
Supporting strikers’ safety and well-being
School strikes organizers have faced, are facing and will face a variety of threats and attacks — in some countries, going on school strike can expose them to repression. In other places, they’ve been attacked personally in the media or on social media. We consider that it is part of our role and responsibility to support them, protect them and help them care for themselves.
