A clarion call to climate action
The strike, led by schoolchildren, saw millions of people worldwide, including in Bangladesh, calling for "an end to the age of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone." There is something beautiful yet profoundly sad about these youth-led mobilisations. It shows that children are stepping up for a safer planet for their future; it also demonstrates our failure to stop the environmental disaster as well as the urgency of tackling global warming, a major aspect of the current climate change. The children are showing us the way and the adults, most specifically policymakers and business leaders, need to listen and learn.
Although countries like Bangladesh are at the frontline of the crisis, climate change is affecting all of us, some more than the others, and it is only through our collective action that we stand a chance of fighting it with any degree of success. All focus should be on cutting global emissions and building clean energy for all and helping more vulnerable countries in their adoption measures on a priority basis. "Everything counts," as Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg has said, and as things stand, we're left with no choice but to give our everything.
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