Students want governments to take more climate action, protest organizer says

A group of about 50 people stood on Memorial University's St. John's campus Friday afternoon to call for climate action in the latest Fridays for Future rally in the capital city.

Sophie Shoemaker, co-president of Fridays for Future St. John's, said the protest is meant to show the provincial government that students want the province to guarantee climate action — and change its current ways.

"Climate change is a really big issue, as we all know, but unfortunately our government continues to invest in fossil fuels and subsidize fossil fuel companies, and companies that have ties to genocide and ecocide," Shoemaker said.

"That's really unfortunate, and that's not what students or young people want."

Several Fridays for Future protests have been held in the St. John's area, following the lead of climate activist Greta Thunberg.

Shoemaker says Fridays for Future St. John's is calling on government to act on four demands: Stop providing oil and gas subsidies to oil companies, ban the advertising of oil and gas companies in the media, divest from companies with ties to ecocide and genocide, and implement a provincial transit system.

Lea Movelle was also at the protest. They designed a mural alongside the Youth Climate Corps campaign — a group calling on the federal government to implement a public work and job training program for anyone under the age of 35 to do climate-related work in their communities.

"I think the campaign offers some hope in what can feel like kind of a hopeless situation sometimes. As young people, we're up against the climate crisis and we're up against ever-increasing cost of living," Movelle said.

"It's a part of that broader agenda we want to see from government, of actual mobilization on the climate crisis."

Jamie Headrick said they were excited to see other young people come together to stand for climate action.

"I'm hearing a lot of people my age and older going, like, 'Well, the next generation's going to fix it.' And if we keep doing this, if we keep saying the next generation is going to fix it, it's never going to happen," they said.

"In order to really make a difference in our community and ... fight for the climate protections that we want to see, then we really have to come together and we have to make it a point of community joy."

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