Since the beginning of the year, large numbers of protests against government inaction on issues of climate change have been taking place in cities worldwide. Most of the movement has taken place in Europe, is largely student-led, and was inspired by the Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who has been speaking out and demanding action from leaders since last year. On March 15, thousands of environmentally concerned students in 80 countries held a “Fridays for Future” strike, marching through the streets with signs. This past week, parts of London were brought to a standstill by protesters from Extinction Rebellion, who have called on the British government to negotiate with them and to prioritize environmental protection.
Photos: Climate-Change Protests Around the World
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Read moreAn Austrian youth shouts slogans during a climate protest, part of the "Fridays for Future" movement, outside the Hofburg palace in Vienna on March 15, 2019, a global day of student protests aiming to spark world leaders into action on climate change. #
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Read moreExtinction Rebellion climate-change activists perform a mass "die-in" under the blue whale in the foyer of the Natural History Museum in London, England, on April 22, 2019, the eighth day of the environmental group's protest calling for political action to combat climate change. #
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Read moreThe Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg (center) leads a march of thousands of French students through Paris, France, on February 22, 2019, to draw more attention to fighting climate change. Her sign reads: "School strike for the climate." #
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Read moreThousands take part in a "Fridays for Future" protest in Santiago, Chile, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreHundreds of schoolchildren take part in a climate protest in Hong Kong on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreStudents protest to demand action on climate change in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreAn inflatable planet Earth is bounced around the crowd during a climate-change-awareness rally at Sydney Town Hall in Australia on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreHigh-school students demonstrate near the Panthéon monument in Paris, France, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreBelgian students call for urgent measures to combat climate change during a demonstration in central Brussels, Belgium, on January 24, 2019. #
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Read moreYouths protest during the seventh Brussels youth climate march in Belgium on February 21, 2019. #
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Read moreThe Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg delivers a speech during a meeting with the environment committee of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on April 16, 2019. She began her speech saying, "My name is Greta Thunberg. I am 16 years old, I come from Sweden, and I want you to panic. I want you to act as if the house was on fire. I have said those words before, and a lot of people have explained why that is a bad idea. A great number of politicians have told me that panic never leads to anything good, and I agree. To panic, unless you have to, is a terrible idea. But when your house is on fire and you want to keep your house from burning to the ground, then that does require some level of panic." #
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Read moreProtesters carry signs as they march during the Youth Climate Strike in San Francisco, California, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreParticipants form a human pyramid during a rally for the Global Climate Strike for Future in Seoul, South Korea, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreAbout 1,000 Minnesota students skipped school to gather on the steps of the state capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, on March 15, 2019, as part of global protests by young people to demand that governments take swift and decisive action to fight climate change. #
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Read moreStudents take part in a global protest against climate change in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreStudents strike for action on climate change in front of the government headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreA boy wears a mask as he attends a student climate strike as part of the Fridays for Future movement in Berlin, Germany, on April 5, 2019. #
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Read moreStudents raise their fists during a protest against climate change on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on March 15, 2019. #
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Read moreDemonstrators shout during a protest as they march through London, England, on April 12, 2019. #
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Read morePolice officers attempt to remove climate-change activists who locked their hands together as they block traffic in the City of London financial district during environmental protests by the Extinction Rebellion group on April 25, 2019. #
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Read moreA climate-change activist is seen up in the trees around Parliament Square during the Extinction Rebellion protest in London, England, on April 23, 2019. #
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Read moreDemonstrators take part in a "funeral procession" during a climate protest in Parliament Square in London on April 15, 2019. #
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Read moreMembers of the police carry a demonstrator during an Extinction Rebellion protest at the Marble Arch in London on April 24, 2019. #
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Read moreProtesters march along Whitehall toward Parliament, with Nelson's Column in the background, in London on April 23, 2019, during a climate protest. #
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Read moreDemonstrators shout during a protest as they march through London, England, on April 12, 2019. Young protesters took to the streets after a government report revealed that the nation was set to miss its emissions targets. #
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
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