Tens of thousands unite in global climate protest

Protest organizers anticipate millions of people participating in the global turnout over the weekend.

Activists worldwide are set to stage the largest climate protest since 2019, with demonstrations planned in 54 countries starting Friday and continuing through the weekend.

From Germany and the Philippines to the United States, tens of thousands of climate activists, led by several climate organizations, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's Fridays for Future movement, have planned over 500 rallies across many cities worldwide.

These strikes demand an end to the use of planet-warming fossil fuels, especially as the world confronts increasing casualties and economic challenges due to unprecedented floods, wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes and droughts.

"The fossil fuel industry runs on greed and exploitation, sacrificing the lives of others in order to line their pockets," Thunberg's Fridays for Future stated in a press release. "We must end the Era of Fossil Fuels, not only for the sake of our planet and our survival but to break free from the chains of neocolonialism. Fossil fuel extraction perpetuates a cycle of colonial dominance."

Protest organizers anticipate millions of people participating in the global turnout over the weekend, which could be the biggest global climate protest since the 2019 School Strike for Climate movement by Thunberg that mobilized millions.

Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organization revealed data confirming that June to August 2023 was the hottest three-month period ever recorded globally.

The WMO reported that last month was the "hottest August" and the second-hottest month on record after July 2023. August 2023 exceeded preindustrial averages by approximately 1.5°C.

The United Nations has attributed all these climate changes and disasters to increased carbon fuel consumption, which emits greenhouse gases that trap heat, and cited the influence of this year's El Niño on global temperature rise.

A strike is set for Sunday in New York City to kick off the city's Climate Week and ahead of the U.N. climate summit on Sept. 20, according to the Associated Press. 

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