Climate protestors take to the streets of Lausanne again
Thousands of people marched through the streets of Lausanne on Friday demanding urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
An estimated 3,500 people demonstrated in the western Swiss city. This was smaller than the climate protest in March when 10,000 participated.
One of them was Swiss chemist Jacques Dubochet, winner of the 2017 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, who carried a “Grandparents for the climate” banner.
Unlike previous strikes in Lausanne, which took place in the city centre, demonstrators marched near the lake. Police intervened to prevent one group from blocking traffic.
Lausanne, Switzerland #ClimateStrikeExternal link #FridaysForFutureExternal link https://t.co/7c0aFc1jMeExternal link
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 27, 2019External link
One week ago, 200 climate activists belonging to the Extinction Rebellion activist group sat down blocking the Bessières bridge in the city centre. They had to be removed by police. On September 10, activists from the Swiss branch of Extinction Rebellion were also responsible for pouring a harmless green dye into the river flowing through Zurich in protest at “the impending collapse of our ecosystem”.
Elsewhere on Friday, tens of thousands of students gathered for marches across New Zealand to kick off a planned second global school strike for climate action. There were also protests in other places in Switzerland, like Biel and Neuchâtel. In Zurich, there were around 5,000 people attending.
The latest round of protests, which builds on last week’s marches by millions of children around the world, is planned to roll through Asia and Europe before culminating in a rally in Montreal, Canada, where teenage activist Greta Thunberg is scheduled to speak.
On September 28, a national climate change demo is planned in the Swiss capital Bern.
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Activists dye River Limmat green in Zurich
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