School Strike 4 Climate NZ to reignite movement in 2021

The 2019 School Strike 4 Climate, in Wellington. Photo / RNZ

By RNZ

Organisers of a youth climate change rally set for later this month say they have plans to reignite their movement this year.

The group School Strike 4 Climate NZ, the organisers of a series of marches across New Zealand in 2019, are holding what they call an intergenerational protest outside parliament on January 26.

They have called the new campaign "100 Days 4 Action", and want the new government to meet a range of "real transformative" demands in their first 100 days in power.

Members have been called on to contribute online to crowdsourcing for ideas to create the list of demands they plan to present to Parliament, but they expect it will include work toward phasing out the use of fossil fuels, decreasing agriculture emissions and investment in climate education.

Spokesperson Ashleigh Putt-Fallows says they hope for a big turnout.

"We've kind of taken a step back in 2020, not even being able to hold any events, whereas when Covid did calm down - [and we weren't] doing it just for focusing around safety.

"So we really can't wait to get back out there and push forward with wanting to get climate back into the centre. We're going to have a lot more events coming this year."

The 2019 School Strike 4 Climate, in Wellington. Photo / RNZ

During lockdown, the group asked followers to display demands for action on climate change in chalk writing on their driveways or on signs.

While they wanted to be respectful of the lockdown rules, they promoted a message saying it was important to keep their voices heard, through the onslaught of coronavirus news.

"The children of New Zealand will be paying off the debt collected from the [Covid-19 economic] stimulus project. We demand that the leaders of today ensure us a safe future."