Climate protesters in new strike demo Fridays For Future activists will take to Stirling streets
Young climate activists from Stirling are expected to be among those taking to the streets across Scotland today (Friday) by striking from their schools, colleges and universities.
They are being asked to gather at 2pm in Port Street in Stirling’s city centre and at 11am this morning at Falkirk High Street bandstand as well as other venues across the country.
Fridays For Future Scotland is a group of young people under 25 who have been organising school, college and university strikes to protest climate inaction since January 2019. The movement began in August 2018 when Greta Thunberg refused to go to school, instead sitting outside the Swedish Parliament every Friday.
During COP26 in November 2021, more than 35,000 young people marched in Glasgow to demand climate justice, setting the tone for the next day when 100,000 people from all over the world would do the same.
The young activists say keeping up the global climate strike will keep the pressure up on politicians to take action “instead of making empty promises”.
More than 700 protests have been organised globally, with eight taking place in Scotland alone.
A spokesperson for local organisers said: “COP26 failed us – not that we ever expected it to deliver. Across the globe, the planet burns while wealth and power grows yet more concentrated in the hands of the few. Decision-makers sit back, choosing to not to protect people and planet but to exacerbate the climate crisis.
“Young people all around the world are standing against this dereliction of duty. On March 25 we will demand our governments put people before profit.”
In September 2019 a climate change protest outside Stirling Council’s headquarters at Old Viewforth was attended by around 300 people - many of them school pupils.
The council later pledged to accelerate its own plans to reduce carbon emissions to zero as soon as practicable and asked senior managers to report back with actions for “real and sustainable progress”.
In March 2019 Stirling Council was urged by Scottish Greens Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Mark Ruskell to back young people who choose to strike from school to highlight the need for action on climate change.
Mr Ruskell wanted a commitment from the council that it would support – and not punish – young people if they join a planned global strike.
At a meeting of Stirling Council that same year, Tory education spokesperson Councillor Bryan Flannagan asked if any guidance was to be issued to headteachers, parents, carers and pupils about any forthcoming Youth Strike 4 Climate events planned during term time. Children and young people convener Susan McGill said it hadn’t but promised to liaise.
Councillor Flannagan later said while pupils’ involvement in such an important issue should be “celebrated” it was important they still attend school and find other ways to protest or raise awareness which did not disrupt their education.