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Striking high school students march to protest for more effective government climate change policy on January 25, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The march, titled 'Friday for Future,' is coinciding with a meeting of the German government Coal Commission, which is due to present its policy recommendation today for charting Germany's reduction of coal-based energy production. (Photo: Omer Messinger/Getty Images)
An estimated ten thousand students took to the freezing cold streets of Berlin, Germany on Friday as they added their voices to the growing youth-led global uprising that is demanding urgent and far-reaching action to address the world's climate crisis.
Following others using the #ClimateStrike tactic inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg of Sweden, the #FridaysforFuture march in Berlin was held as students across Switzerland also held protests on Friday and two days after 35,000 young people marched in Brussels.
The students in Germany marched to the Ministry of Economics where a conference focused on the country's coal industry was being held. Outside the building they called on the nation's leaders to phase out coal immediately.
"The general problem is not that there's a lack of knowledge, but of action," one student demonstrator told Deutsche Welle. "That's why it's good to go into the streets and express our views."
Thousands of students, ranging in age from elementary school to college, were seen dancing and jumping in unison as they--like their allies elsewhere around the world--called on elected leaders, business executives, and older generations to mobilize for urgent action to address the crisis:
Photos of the crowd:


From the elite gathering of the World Economic Form in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, Thunberg--widely credited with spurring the European movement over recent months--sent her applause and gratitude, via numerous messages and retweets on her Twitter account, to those who demonstrated in Berlin and elsewhere. And from Davos, she repeated her call for urgent mobilization by telling the world that "action" not "hope" is what the rapidly warming world needs most.
"I want you to act as you would in a crisis," Thunberg told attendees at Davos and those watching around the world. "I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
An estimated ten thousand students took to the freezing cold streets of Berlin, Germany on Friday as they added their voices to the growing youth-led global uprising that is demanding urgent and far-reaching action to address the world's climate crisis.
Following others using the #ClimateStrike tactic inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg of Sweden, the #FridaysforFuture march in Berlin was held as students across Switzerland also held protests on Friday and two days after 35,000 young people marched in Brussels.
The students in Germany marched to the Ministry of Economics where a conference focused on the country's coal industry was being held. Outside the building they called on the nation's leaders to phase out coal immediately.
"The general problem is not that there's a lack of knowledge, but of action," one student demonstrator told Deutsche Welle. "That's why it's good to go into the streets and express our views."
Thousands of students, ranging in age from elementary school to college, were seen dancing and jumping in unison as they--like their allies elsewhere around the world--called on elected leaders, business executives, and older generations to mobilize for urgent action to address the crisis:
Photos of the crowd:


From the elite gathering of the World Economic Form in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, Thunberg--widely credited with spurring the European movement over recent months--sent her applause and gratitude, via numerous messages and retweets on her Twitter account, to those who demonstrated in Berlin and elsewhere. And from Davos, she repeated her call for urgent mobilization by telling the world that "action" not "hope" is what the rapidly warming world needs most.
"I want you to act as you would in a crisis," Thunberg told attendees at Davos and those watching around the world. "I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is."
An estimated ten thousand students took to the freezing cold streets of Berlin, Germany on Friday as they added their voices to the growing youth-led global uprising that is demanding urgent and far-reaching action to address the world's climate crisis.
Following others using the #ClimateStrike tactic inspired by 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg of Sweden, the #FridaysforFuture march in Berlin was held as students across Switzerland also held protests on Friday and two days after 35,000 young people marched in Brussels.
The students in Germany marched to the Ministry of Economics where a conference focused on the country's coal industry was being held. Outside the building they called on the nation's leaders to phase out coal immediately.
"The general problem is not that there's a lack of knowledge, but of action," one student demonstrator told Deutsche Welle. "That's why it's good to go into the streets and express our views."
Thousands of students, ranging in age from elementary school to college, were seen dancing and jumping in unison as they--like their allies elsewhere around the world--called on elected leaders, business executives, and older generations to mobilize for urgent action to address the crisis:
Photos of the crowd:


From the elite gathering of the World Economic Form in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, Thunberg--widely credited with spurring the European movement over recent months--sent her applause and gratitude, via numerous messages and retweets on her Twitter account, to those who demonstrated in Berlin and elsewhere. And from Davos, she repeated her call for urgent mobilization by telling the world that "action" not "hope" is what the rapidly warming world needs most.
"I want you to act as you would in a crisis," Thunberg told attendees at Davos and those watching around the world. "I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is."