Leave work early today! Mass protests expected to spark travel misery for millions as more than 200,000 take to streets in climate change protest
- Thousands of people are expected to take part in climate change protest Friday
- Global Strike 4 Climate will take place in 110 towns and cities across Australia
- Universities confirmed they will not penalise students for attending the rallies
Commuter chaos is expected as thousands of protesters take to the streets as part of a global strike for climate change action.
The Global Strike 4 Climate will on Friday take place in 110 towns and cities across Australia, with organisers demanding government and business commit to a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
They are also campaigning for a transition to 100 per cent renewable energy.
‘Australia is already on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Prolonged drought. Flash flooding. Catastrophic bushfires, severe cyclones and heatwaves,’ Australian strike organisers say on their Facebook event page.
Millions of people from across the globe are expected to walk out of work and school as part of ‘Strike 4 Climate Action’ which will be held on September 20
‘But just at the time when we need to ramp up climate solutions, we have elected a government that wants to open the floodgates to new coal, oil and gas projects that put all of us at risk.’
Universities have confirmed they will not penalise students for attending the rallies, while the Uniting Church synod for NSW and the ACT have backed their students to attend the demonstrations.
But Catholic and Anglican church-run schools said their students should remain in class, as do NSW public schools.
Some Queensland students have called for Adani to halt their Carmichael coal mine, and for a ban on new coal, oil and gas projects.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions supported the strike.
One of the billionaire founders of tech firm Atlassian has encouraged his 3,500 employees to skip work and take part in a global strike for climate change action.
Co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes said companies shared the responsibility for the impact of climate change and should use their large platforms to advocate for proper climate policy.
Pictured: Students gathered to demand the government take action on climate change at Martin Place on November 30, 2018
Mr Cannon-Brookes said Australians could not rely on the government to effectively address climate change
Mr Cannon-Brookes also said Australians could not rely on the government to effectively address climate change.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Cannon-Brookes said since corporations are financially affected by climate change, it was in their interests to encourage politicians to take significant action.
‘Corporations have to deal with it; they have to deal with their own impact and their own footprint as companies,’ he said.
Employees at Atlassian will be able to use part of the week’s leave they receive each year to do charity work or partake in climate change protests.
Mr Cannon-Brookes, who is worth $8.9billion dollars according to the latest Forbes rich list, said the Australian government has no credible climate policy.
‘It’s a crisis that demands leadership and action. But we can’t rely on governments alone – sadly, in Australia, we can’t rely on them at all.’
He said the Morrison government continues to state they will meet their 2030 global Paris Agreement target, even though Australia’s emissions have continued to rise.
Those attending the protest will demand global action on climate change ahead of a summit in New York, which will be attended by members of the United Nations.
Atlassian is a software company based in Sydney that develops products for software developers, project managers and content management.