Georgia Joins Global Climate Strike
Climate change, one of the major issues of the modern world has brought together thousands of climate activists and ordinary individuals at the Global Climate Strike in different cities of the globe. Georgia has also joined the large-scale campaign, seeing more than 100 people of different ages and spheres, including minors under 10, gathered at the territory adjacent to the Tbilisi City Hall and demanding protection for Dighomi Wood, Batumi Parkland, as well as suspending construction of the HPPs in the mountainous region of Svaneti in order to preserve the historic heritage and prevent natural disasters.
In Georgia, the rally is run by the non-profit organization Georgian Young Greens, who call on the youngsters to skip schools today and join the campaign to make a step forward towards the sustainable development and make politicians take responsibility for the protection of the environment, base their actions in this regards on appropriate researches and do not prioritize interests of the business sector.
The Global Climate Strike has been inspired by Greta Thunberg a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, who in 2018 launched global headlines for solitary protests outside of the Swedish parliament and managed to unite millions of youngsters around the idea. However, aside the school children, who skipped their lessons for the sake of nature and climate, the campaign has also been joined by various organizations and employees of a number of major brands, including Amazon and Microsoft.
This year, the protests kick off today and are set to continue until September 27. The protest events coincide with the date of the UN Emergency Climate Action Summit, which is to take place on September 23 in New York. The strike started in Australia and the ABC News has reported that “Organisers estimate 300,000 Australians have gathered at climate change rallies around the country in one of the largest protest events in the nation's history.”
By Ketevan Kvaratskheliya
Image source: Katie Ruth Davies