Their slogans resonated in the streets of Manhattan. “Climate justice. Now ! “, chanted, Friday, September 24 in New York, to the sound of the drums, about a thousand people, the vast majority of young people “On a global strike for the climate”. They marched through the financial district, south of the island, from Foley Square to Battery Park, at the call of Fridays for Future. The movement, launched three years ago by the Swedish Greta Thunberg, had announced more than 1,500 events across the planet. This is the biggest mobilization since the end of 2019, before the Covid-19 put a brake on the dynamics. One way to put the pressure on world leaders a few weeks before the 26e United Nations climate conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12 and which promises to be crucial.
“You are burning our future”, “Invest in us”, “SOS”, “Denial is not a policy”, “No one is too small to tell the difference”… In the economic and cultural capital of the United States, it was not the monster demonstration that had swept through the last edition of “global climate strike” in 2019. But for these young people, finally the opportunity to be able to get together and share the pleasure of parading together – almost all of them were masked – behind a large banner: “Let’s uproot the system. “ A few hours before the demonstration, Anna Buretta, 17, one of the organizers, explained that she was waiting “Between 500 and 5000 people”. ” It’s hard to say, she indicated. It’s the first walk in a year and a half and we don’t really know where the movement is, how many people are still active or not. “
Not to discourage Hung Tran, a 24 year old student. “It is certain that the more we are, the more big companies will have to move, he admits. This parade will not revolutionize things but its influence and impact will be felt beyond this single day. Here, there are only young people and they are the consumers of tomorrow. If businesses don’t change the way they do business, they won’t survive. “ Eva, 16, came with two girlfriends and a supply of signs they are distributing. For the high school student, “The climate catastrophe we were hearing about is happening much faster than we thought and the oil companies, for example, will not stop polluting until there is nothing left.” It is therefore urgent to act according to her. “If we don’t make ourselves heard now, it will be too late”, adds the one who began to campaign when the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, was elected in 2016.
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