Australian students strike against government funding for gas industry

Students participate in a "School Strike 4 Climate" rally, demanding action on climate change, in Sydney, Australia

Thousands of Australian students skipped school on Friday and gathered with climate activists to call on the government to stop funding the gas industry, taking aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison's plans to fund a new gas plant. During the event dubbed ‘School Strike 4 Climate’ (SS4C), tens of thousands of students congregated across some 50 Australian cities and towns, organisers said. ‘Today, together with tens of thousands of my fellow let-down Australians, I am striking from school to tell the Morrison government that they must stop throwing Aussie cash at gas,’ 16-year old organiser Natasha Abhayawickrama said in a statement. Many local businesses also closed for the day to join the rallies, which are demanding that the government halts funding for gas and coal projects and invests and creates job in renewable energy instead, the organisers said.