Young climate activist Greta Thunberg visits Germany for Friday school strikes
dpa / Tagesspiegel
The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg says Germany鈥檚 school strikes for climate action give her 鈥渁 lot of hope,鈥� news agency dpa reports in an in the Tagesspiegel. The 16-year-old visited Germany for the first time since her calls for school strikes to demonstrate for climate action gained her international popularity. She participated in a protest of the Fridays for Future movement in Hamburg on Friday. Thunberg said Germany is one of the most important countries in the fight against climate change. 鈥淕ermany is a key player. Whatever Germany does has a big impact on the rest of the world. That鈥檚 why I think you should see this as a big opportunity,鈥� she said.
School strikes modelled on Thunberg鈥檚 initial protest in front of the Swedish parliament have gained increasing momentum in many countries around the world over the past months and put climate action in the focus of national debates. In Germany, thousands of students have taken part in protests in recent months, reaching a high point on January 18, when organisers estimated . The next major strike in Germany is planned for 15 March and will focus on demanding lower emissions in the transport sector.