‘We cannot wait any longer, tomorrow is too late’: Manchester Students to join global climate strike

On Friday March 3rd, students from Manchester Universities will be participating in the Fridays for Future global climate strike.

The demonstration, organised by UoM People and Planet alongside other Manchester-based environmental groups, will take place at St. Peter’s Square between 11am and 2pm.

Originating in 2018, Fridays For Future is a youth-led and youth-organised movement with the goal to overcome the climate crisis and combat the threat of ecological breakdown. It has flourished into a thriving worldwide movement, with students and young adults across the globe participating in their strikes.

Friday For Future have now announced their twelfth global climate strike “#TomorrowIsNeverTooLate“. Their demand is to bring an end to the financing of all fossil fuel projects.

There will be a number of speakers at the Manchester demonstration, including representatives from Labour Students, Young Greens, and People and Planet. Furthermore, Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey will speak at the event.

Celine, a student at the University of Manchester and a member of People and Planet, told The Manchester Tab: “We’re trying to get the climate movement in Manchester going again. There are so many climate groups in Manchester that are doing amazing work and we’re hoping to now get all of those people back on the street again after several years of the pandemic.

“The Corona crisis has already shown us the consequences of an underestimated crisis. We need to confront all dangers before they cross dangerous tipping points. We cannot wait any longer, tomorrow is too late.

Credit via @peopleandplantuom

Celine said: “We can already see the consequences that the climate catastrophe has today. According to the World Disaster Report of the International League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies weather and climate-related natural disasters have already increased by 35% since 1990.

“This is hitting countries in the Global South particularly hard. The United Kingdom as a colonial power and industrial nation has a responsibility towards those countries that are already affected by the climate catastrophe. It is time we take that responsibility seriously and start to act”

Credit via @peopleandplantuom

Anastasia is a Young Green Candidate and one of the speakers at the demonstration. She told The Manchester Tab: “I am honoured to be participating in a youth climate strike as a speaker. Ultimately as young people, we realise that the problems we face as a planet are existential.

It is always heartening to go to a strike and see that thousands of others are concerned about the state of our world. Collective action is the only way we can have an impact and despite people’s fatigue with groups like XR and Insulate Britain, I really believe this movement is still growing, and have hope for the future”.

If you are interested in participating in the strike, more information can be found on the People and Planet Instagram. 

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