Fridays for Future (FFF), also known as the School Strike for Climate (Swedish: Skolstrejk för klimatet [ˈskûːlstrɛjk fœr klɪˈmɑ̌ːtɛt]), is an international movement of school students who skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders to prevent climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy.

[4] She has said she was inspired by the teen activists at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who organised the March for Our Lives.

[25] In the days that followed, in Australia, thousands of students began to strike on Fridays, ignoring Prime Minister Scott Morrison's call for "more learning in schools and less activism".

[34][35][36] In several countries, including Germany and the UK, pupils demanded the change of laws to reduce the voting age to 16 so that they could influence public elections in favour of the youth.

[37][38] In August 2019 Thunberg travelled to New York City on a two-week journey by sailboat to continue calling attention to the work needed to address the climate crisis.

[40] In United States, organizers coordinated on a state-by-state level and communicated autonomously within Slack groups and spreading their messages using flyers and social media.

[40] The Belgian environment minister for Flanders, Joke Schauvliege, resigned on 5 February 2019 after falsely claiming the state security agency had evidence that the school strikes in Belgium were a "set‑up".

[46] On 21 February 2019, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, stated his intent to spend hundreds of billions of euros on climate-change mitigation, amounting to a fourth of the EU budget.

The youth of this world has started to move and we will not rest again.In Scotland, city councils of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Highland and Fife gave permission for children to attend the strikes.

Protesters gathered at several points all over the city (including at Aachen main station, Westpark, RWTH CARL [de] and Vaals) representing different chapters of the movement.

[70] Accompanied by several musical groups, they then walked or drove with bicycles through the streets to the main event at the Tivoli, thereby blocking larger parts of the traffic infrastructure for hours.

According to the organizers, with eventually 40,000 protesters this peaceful event turned out to be the largest single FFF climate strike in a German city that far.

[77][78] Among the many speakers were Cyril Dion (France),[75] Karen Raymond (India), Tetet Nera-Lauron (Philippines) and Jesse (Netherlands), Milan Schwarze and Sina Chom (Ende Gelände),[75] as well as activists from the Hambach Forest, Pacific Climate Warriors,[75] Alle Dörfer bleiben!

Artists participating in the event included Brass Riot, Culcha Candela,[76] Bodo Wartke [de], Moop Mama, Ruslana Lyzhychko,[70] KingzCorner,[79] Leo Holldack and Davide Martello.

[98] A week later, the central COP25 protest took place in Madrid, with an estimated turnout of half a million, in which FFF activists from all over the world participated.

[100][101][102] On Friday 19 March 2021, another global climate strike saw protests in hundreds of places around the planet; due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the scale of in-person gatherings was much reduced compared to previous years.

[103][104][105] On 15 June 2021, the Auckland chapter of New Zealand's School Strike 4 Climate movement formally disbanded on the grounds that it had been racist towards BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour).

Indigenous youth climate advocacy group Te Ara Whatu spokesperson Anevili welcomed the decision as a means of tackling racism but expressed concerned that activists of colour could be blamed for the Auckland chapter's dissolution.

[120] In New Zealand, climate strikes were held in several cities and towns including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, Napier, New Plymouth and Palmerston North.

[123] In March 2020, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Greta Thunberg encouraged the movement to not gather in the streets or town squares, but to instead sit at home with a sign and post the image on the Internet.

[124] The movement has since amassed notable popularity due to restrictions passed regarding large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, receiving attention from organizations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International.

[125] Since its formation, the Fridays for Future Digital movement has engaged in a series of campaigns aimed at raising awareness of various climate justice issues.

Adults in positions of authority, in the form of fossil fuel corporations and global governments, are seen as being responsible for large carbon dioxide emissions, and doing far too little to reduce them.

[135] An article published in Nature in March 2019 listed many other expressions of support, and no criticisms, from scientists, with comments such as "The idea of a climate strike is innovative.

[140] On 14 March 2019, the Club of Rome issued an official statement in support of Thunberg and the strikes, urging governments across the world to respond to this call for action and cut global carbon emissions.

[142] In June 2019, 1,000 healthcare professionals in the UK and elsewhere, including professors, eminent public health figures, and former presidents of royal colleges, called for widespread non-violent civil disobedience in response to "woefully inadequate" government policies on the unfolding ecological emergency.

[157] Judith Collins, and several other Members of Parliament were dismissive of the impact of the strike,[158] while Climate Change Minister James Shaw expressed support noting that little attention would be paid to marchers protesting on the weekend.

[159][160] On 15 March 2019 the UN Secretary-General António Guterres embraced the strikers, admitting that "My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change.

"[163] Moms Clean Air Force recommends contacting school officials, providing snacks for the children, and standing with signs in solidarity.

Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said: We are humbled and inspired by the determination with which youth activists across the world are challenging us all to confront the realities of the climate crisis.