Greta Thunberg joins climate rally in Germany ahead of election
CTV
Environmental activists, many of them students taking time out from school, staged rallies around the world on Friday to demand that leaders take stronger action to curb climate change amid dire warnings of an increasingly hotter globe if nothing is done soon.
The protest outside the Reichstag in Berlin on Friday was part of a string of rallies around the world amid dire warnings the planet faces dangerous temperature rises unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut sharply in the coming years.
The idea for a global "climate strike" was inspired by teenage Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's solo protest in Stockholm three years ago. It snowballed into a mass movement until the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to large gatherings. Activists have only recently started staging smaller gatherings.
Thunberg was scheduled to speak at the Berlin protest. German activists have referred to the Sept. 26 election as the "vote of the century," arguing that the decision taken by the next government will influence the country's efforts to tackle climate change for decades to come. The issue has been a major topic during the election campaign.
Friday's rally was a multi-generational event, drawing school-age participants as well as adults. Rene Bohrenfeldt, an IT expert taking part in the Berlin rally, said he hoped older Germans would consider the issue when casting their votes on Sunday.
