'Although we face another global emergency, the climate crisis has not gone away'; Student strike returns to Cork City Hall

Cork student climate activists are returning to their weekly school strike for climate outside Cork City Hall for this first time since the introduction of Covid-19 restrictions. 

Fridays for Future strikes in Cork began in January 2019, as part of the global youth movement sparked by activist Greta Thunberg.  Organisers continued the protests online during the lockdown but will be back on Anglesea Street this morning, with social distancing measures in place. 

Participants will be required to wear masks and to maintain a minimum of two meters of distance from others from different households.

One of the aims of the protest is to remind the new Government of the importance of climate action. 

“This new Government has promised to address the climate crisis, though the actions outlined in the Program for Government were not radical enough," organiser Darren Cotter said. "We will continue striking in order to hold them accountable to their commitment to climate action and to the 1.5 degree target." 

Saoi O'Connor, age 17, who has been striking for 78 weeks, said the current pandemic must not be used to delay action on the climate crisis. 

"The current arctic temperatures remind us that although we now face another global emergency, the climate crisis has not gone away, and we cannot afford to allow one crisis to halt action on the other," she said. "Both are crises and must be treated as such.

"This is why we must continue striking, as a reminder that every crisis must be treated as a crisis, and these crises must be acted upon in accordance with the best available science, with justice and empathy at the core of our response”.