Join young people across the US and the world as they demand transformative action to address our climate crisis.
“We are the younger generation,” said Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old girl whose climate advocacy has captured the world’s attention. “We are the ones who are going to be affected, and therefore we demand justice.”
Every Friday for the last year, millions of students like Thunberg have been leaving their classrooms to protest climate inaction. United by their resolve to save the planet from the worsening effects of climate change, they have demanded an end to the age of fossil fuels. They have refused to accept anything but decisive action to address our climate emergency.
And now they’re asking all of us to step up.
Why is Oxfam supporting these youth leaders?
Next month, millions of people will walk out of their homes, offices, farms, and factories to join young climate strikers on the streets.
The global climate strikes will take place on Friday, September 20—days before a UN climate emergency summit in New York—and again on Friday, September 27.
Climate action is critical to ending the injustice of poverty. Droughts and floods are becoming more frequent, driving millions of people into hunger. Changing rainfall patterns and rising temperatures are affecting how small-scale farmers and pastoralists live, forcing families to migrate in search of a better life. New data released this month for the first time links industrial food production and unsustainable land use—think of the burning Amazon—to the worsening impacts of climate change.
Many of these dynamics mostly impact women of color in poor communities in the global South—despite the fact that the carbon footprint of the world’s one billion poorest people represents just 3 percent of the global total.
Our climate emergency is a climate injustice.
How can I strike?
By striking with youth leaders on September 20 or September 27, you can join actions in more than 150 countries—one of the largest youth-led mobilizations ever. Rallies and marches will be held across US—likely including your community. Everyone is welcome!
The climate strikes are taking place at a critical time in the US. As the Trump administration prepares to remove the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, many candidates for the presidency are talking about their plans for climate action. By striking, you can show your support for climate action and help put climate change at the top of the presidential agenda.
I can’t strike. What else can I do?
Even if you can’t strike next month, there are other ways to take climate action today and make the planet a better place.
- Eat for Good: Did you know that fighting hunger and saving the planet can start right at your kitchen table? Oxfam’s guide to shopping and eating sustainably shows you how. Changes in how we buy, cook, and eat can make a big difference—for people all over the world. Try these five simple tips next time you go grocery shopping or cook a meal.
- Save the Amazon: The world's attention has been captured by the fires raging in the Amazon rainforest. The forest covers millions of square miles across nine different countries including Bolivia, where Oxfam is working with partners on the ground. Donate to support fire relief and recovery efforts in the Amazon.
- ActNow: The UN Foundation’s ActNow bot recommends daily actions to reduce our carbon footprints—like traveling more sustainably, saving energy, or eating less meat. By registering and sharing your actions, you send a message that individuals like you want climate action and are willing to take it.
The truth is that our hotter planet is already hurting millions of people. But Oxfam and people like you have been investing in climate solutions that have the real potential to change our trajectory before it’s too late—once and for all. This is the next big step in a long fight for environmental justice that goes back decades.
Now it’s everyone’s turn to stand with young people and show world leaders the people power demanding climate justice.