Cork teens highlight climate issues with 'placards not people' protest

Fridays for Future Cork are holding a “people-less protest” in the city centre to mark Global Day of Climate Action.

The group have avoided mass gatherings for the event and have put a spin on traditional protests by using posters and placards instead of people.

“We will not be able to strike as we usually would, because in times of crisis we change our behaviour. What we are trying to say now is that we need to fight every crisis like a crisis,” said 17-year-old activist Sia O’Conner.

The posters and placards were gathered from across the county this week and will now be distributed across different locations in the city in an attempt to show that even during the pandemic, the climate movement has not gone away.

“We need to remind our leaders that the climate crisis hasn’t gone away. The climate crisis and the coronavirus pandemic are connected. Both reflect the system that we live in and our relationship with the world around us,” said Saoi O’Conner from Skibbereen.

“We cannot afford to allow the climate crisis to take a back seat.” 

The Fridays for Future are protesting in demand that Ireland fulfills its obligation to keep the global temperature rise at or below 1.5 and to ensure that climate justice and equity for everyone. 

They are calling on leaders to listen to findings on climate change and to act accordingly.