The University of Manchester’s People & Planet group gathered in St Peter’s square for a global climate strike today.
Students and young people from schools or universities across the world are striking to demand those in power take action as part of Fridays for Futures global climate strike.
Tilly Green, a member of the University of Manchester People & Planet group said: “There wasn’t an event as far as we could see in Manchester.
“We decided it was about time we put something like this on in Manchester so we’re here to demand better and demand that people in power take drastic climate action now.”
The university group were joined by Manchester’s Extinction Rebellion as well as speakers Rebecca Long-Bailey, MP for Salford and Eccles, and Anastasia, a member of Manchester’s Green Party.
Jessie Tomlinson, a member of Extinction Rebellion who also spoke at the event said: “I think it’s a moral imperative to act now. Although we might not realise it in the global north, where are weather systems are comparatively still intact at the moment, in the global south there’s struggle between life and death.”
She as well as many of the other speakers urged those who attended to join a mass movement, to continue to make noise and not lose hope.
Danny Zero, one of the performers sang a number of climate related songs including one titled ‘Greta Song’ which included the lyric “we have to wake up and make the change”.
Afterwards he told Mancunian Matters: “I’ve got kids and I feel for the future they have or the lack of future that they have.”
Extinction Rebellion will be gathering around the Houses of Parliament from the 21st April, in a peaceful demonstration to demand an end to the use of fossil fuels.
