Swedish youth activist visits L.A. for climate rally

Young people took to the street again Friday to protest inaction on climate change, joining Swedish teen Greta Thunberg and other activists in a school strike in Los Angeles.

Thunberg gathered with California teen and collegeage activists who called for global climate action and a push for state and local leaders to phase out fossil fuel production. Among their demands of Gov. Gavin Newsom and other politicians: a halt to new oil drilling and a 2,500foot buffer between drill sites and homes.

The strikes are intended to put pressure on politicians “and to make sure they will not get away with continuing like this,” Thunberg said in an interview with The Times before the rally in downtown Los Angeles. “Because the situation is just getting more and more absurd for every day that goes by without something real and drastic happening.

“We should listen to the science that has been ignored for too long,” she added.

Thunberg, 16, is the most prominent face of the youth climate movement that has swept the globe since she began launching school strikes in her home country last year.

She arrived in Los Angeles earlier this week after traveling across North America in a borrowed electric car, and south across California. During her journey, she said she was saddened to see wildfires erupting and the aftermath of the Camp fire in Northern California, which burned the city of Paradise in 2018. “It was

just devastating to see the destruction there and the houses that were gone and people telling stories, horrible stories,” she said.

“Of course, wildfires are a natural part of the ecosystem here, but they are being intensified with the climate crisis and it will continue to get worse,” she added.

The hourlong march began around noon, drums beating as the demonstrators raised their fists and carried hand-drawn signs through the streets of downtown. Although there were no official estimates, organizers said about 3,000 people attended Friday’s rally.

“Keep it in the soil,” they said, demanding “climate justice” and vowing to use the power of social media, public protest — and someday, the ballot box — to oust politicians who do not move swiftly to phase out fossil fuels.

“I’m here because we deserve a future,” said Jasmine Madlener, 16, who came from south Orange County to support Thunberg. “We need as many people as possible. Politicians need to know that we will have the numbers to vote them out.”

Thunberg was the final keynote speaker at Friday’s rally.

“Right now we are living in the beginning of a climate and ecological breakdown. And we cannot continue to look away from this crisis anymore,” Thunberg told the crowd outside City Hall. “We young people have had enough. We say no more. And if our parents won’t speak up for us, then we will.”

The demonstration is the latest action by the youth climate movement, which has organized students across the globe in coordinated school strikes on Fridays to demand action.

“We’re not going to stop striking until they start listening to us,” said Chandini Brennan Agarwal, 16, a 10thgrader at New West Charter School on L.A.’s Westside and one of the strike organizers. “Even though our focus this time is oil wells in California, we’re still trying to send a message about the climate crisis to politicians worldwide.”

Several local activists also took to the stage to speak of their experiences living in the shadow of fossil fuel industries in some of L.A.’s most polluted communities, where residents have long fought for clean air and environmental justice.

“We have oil drilling right next to our homes, we have oil refineries,” said Nizgui Gomez, a 17-year-old from Wilmington and a first-year student at Santa Monica College. “Yeah, we are making little changes, but that’s not enough.”

The demonstration comes after the U.N. climate summit in September failed to deliver the bold action demanded by young people. None of the world’s biggest nations made new commitments to cut emissions, an outcome that served only to galvanize the youth movement’s mission.

Since the summit, Thunberg has made her way across the U.S. and Canada, participating in strikes in different cities. This week, she made headlines by declining an international environmental award, saying “the climate movement does not need any more prizes.”

During her journey, Thunberg found inspiration in meeting with indigenous leaders and said she was excited to meet other young climate activists.

“I don’t get hopeful by meeting politicians and people in power, business leaders,” she told The Times. “Because they always say the same thing over and over again. What does make me hopeful is the people. To see that people are kind, people want to do good.”

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a statement welcoming Thunberg and other youth activists to City Hall. “The students lifting their voices know the future belongs to them — and this is a moment for leaders to listen to their call,” the mayor said.

Vicky Waters, a spokeswoman for Newsom, said the governor applauded Thunberg and other youth activists “who are forcing global attention onto these issues.”

“Where national politicians fail, the youth stand up, and are joined by state and local governments in taking action,” Waters said in a statement. “Greta, we hear you, California is committed to decarbonizing our economy while creating inclusive growth, not an either-or, but a yes-and.”

The next climate strike is scheduled for Dec. 6.