The global movement Fridays for Future, also known as Youth for the Climate, will arrive in Belem this Friday (14th), the site of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30.
Young activists walk through the streets of Plaza de Casa towards Plaza de la Republica in the center of the capital state of Pará. The demonstrations call for effective action from political leaders to combat climate change and the end of the fossil fuel industry.
The movement was founded and popularized by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. She gained international recognition for the lone protests she promoted every Friday in Stockholm. The movement later united millions of people to take action against climate change.
The last COP Greta attended was the 26th COP in Glasgow, Scotland. At the time, she called the event “a festival of greenwashing from the Global North.” The term is used to refer to the practice of selling an environmentally friendly image without making any substantial changes.
Regarding COP27, activists in Egypt reiterated accusations of greenwashing and criticized the lack of space for civil society in the negotiations. The following year, the conference was held in the United Arab Emirates, and Greta said the outcome was “a stab in the back for the most vulnerable”.
The activist also criticized Azerbaijan, which hosted COP29 last year. He called the country an “authoritarian petrostate” and told reporters that his country’s choice to host the event was “beyond absurd” because its economy is based on the oil and gas market.
This Friday’s mobilization in Belem, with the theme “Just Transition Now”, consolidates simultaneous protests in several countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, the Republic of Congo and Sweden.
Daniel Holland, 22, was one of the organizers of the event in Belem. He is celebrating the resurgence of protests in the COP host country, which has not been held for the past three editions due to the host country’s authoritarian regime.
“Traditionally, global strikes take place on the first Friday of the COP period. Unfortunately, for the past three years we have not had this right to protest in the streets,” he said. sheet.
The main focus of the event in Belém will be the abolition of fossil fuels, protection of the Amazon, just transition, financing for the most affected communities, climate justice, and the leading role of young people in these discussions.
“We urgently need an energy transition,” Holland said. “We have made small strides in the fight against the climate crisis, but now is not the time to take a step back. It is time to act even faster, because we have already exceeded the 1.5°C limit,” he said, referring to the limit set in the Paris Agreement on average global temperature rise, beyond which climate impacts would be significantly more severe.
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