Global students' strike targets climate change

Thousands of school students walked out of classes across Australia and New Zealand in a global student strike to protest against government inaction on climate change."Climate change is worse than Voldemort," read a handmade sign carried by one student in Wellington, referring to the evil wizard in the hugely popular Harry Potter books and films.

"The oceans are rising, so are we," read another in Sydney.Student protests in capitals and cities from Wellington to Melbourne and Sydney drew tens of thousands of people, with more demonstrations planned later in the day in Asia, Europe and the United States.

The worldwide student strike movement started in August 2018, when 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg began protesting outside her parliament on school days. She has since been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Elsewhere in Asia, about 60 students protested at government house in the Thai capital of Bangkok, holding cardboard signs to campaign against plastic. Thailand is one of the world's top marine plastic polluters. In the South Korean capital of Seoul, more than 100 students held recycled cardboard signs with slogans such as 'Too Warm 4 School,' and 'Don't deny climate change'.

In the wealthy city state of Singapore, where strict laws regulate public assembly, young people planned a virtual campaign on social media. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has pledged NZ$100 million ($68 million) to cut greenhouse gas emissions, supports the strikes, saying teenagers should not wait for voting age to use their voices. That contrasts with politicians in Australia and Britain who have rebuked them for cutting class.

"For action on issues that they think is important, they should do that after school or on weekends," Dan Tehan, Australia's Education Minister, told reporters ahead of protests in Melbourne.

Wellington parent Alex, who marched beside his 11-year-old son, disagreed. "It's a much better day of education," he said. "This is the greatest issue of our time." Scientists say fossil fuel use releases greenhouse gases that trap heat and lift global temperatures, bringing more floods, droughts, heatwaves and rising sea levels.

-Charlotte Greenfield and Tom Westbrook