Students demand action on climate change

Photo Credit: Youssef Saudee

Thousands of Victorian students gathered in front of Melbourne’s Old Treasury Building last Friday demanding renewed climate action by the Federal Government.

RMIT students were among 150,000 young protesters who skipped school around the country to take to the streets as over 120 countries hosted similar strikes across the globe.

RMIT Student Union representative Liam Parry said “this needs to be part of an ongoing movement” in an effort to “force people to meaningfully act on climate change.”

Strikers demanded the Federal Government to immediately end Queensland’s Adani coalmine project and to being the introduction of 100% renewable energy.

The UN released a report last October outlining a global 1C° temperate rise, sparking concerns about ongoing increases as Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions rate stagnates.

Friday’s protests came after Swedish 16-year-old, Greta Thunberg, addressed the UN last December.

“We have to speak clearly,” about climate change Thunberg said, “no matter how uncomfortable that may be”.

Victorian Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said she was “blown away by the fantastic turnout at Friday’s rally”, adding “the decisions politicians make today have a huge impact on our young people.”