Students to strike outside the Scottish Parliament this Friday to demand action on climate change

A group of students and young people are to protest outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh tomorrow, as part of a global movement to demand action on climate change

Young people from over 90 countries worldwide will be cutting classes and taking to the streets on Friday 15th to demand action be taken on climate change. In Scotland, protests are expected to take place in 18 locations, with the largest strikes occurring in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Last month, over 10,000 children walked out of classes, and this week's strike is expected to be even bigger.

The strikes are originally inspired by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who began skipping school on Fridays to protest outside of the Swedish parliament in Stockholm in September 2018. Her point: what is the use in going to school if climate change means that there is no future?

The idea behind the strikes is that climate change deeply affects the futures of students and young people – it is our problem. Impacts which we are already seeing now – extreme weather, global warming, and natural disasters – are both becoming normal and expected to intensify over time. If changes aren't made, it is our generation which will have to deal with the catastrophic and damaging consequences. Climate change is real, is happening, and is going to impact us all. The strikes therefore will call for governments to take action and make changes.

In Edinburgh, students will be gathering to strike outside of the Scottish Parliament between 9am and 2pm. The society People & Planet will be meeting at Bistro Square at 9am to walk down to Holyrood.

The worldwide strikes have huge potential to voice the concerns of thousands of students, and to demand politicians take action – but of course, they are dependent on the participation of individuals. So why not join? We all love a good excuse to miss uni anyway.