Belgian students during their demonstration demanding urgent measures to combat climate change in central Brussels, Belgium on January 31, 2019. (REUTERS/Yves Herman File Photo)
The campaign has been inspired by 15-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg, who has been skipping school every Friday to protest outside the Swedish parliament. Since then, tens of thousands of children across Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia have been inspired to hold their own demonstrations, BBC reported
Morung Express News
Students in towns and cities across the UK are skipping school on February 15 to protest against climate change and demanding action from the British Government on the issue.
The schedule strike was set at 11am on Friday as part of a global youth action over climate change.
Demonstrations will be held in areas including London, Bristol, Cornwall and the Scottish Highlands, organised by youth climate change groups.
According to BBC, the campaign has been inspired by 15-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg, who has been skipping school every Friday to protest outside the Swedish parliament.
Since then, tens of thousands of children across Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Australia have been inspired to hold their own demonstrations, it said.
The walkouts are being seen as a chance to build towards a global day of school strikes on 15 March.
The UK strikes have been organised by a coalition of YouthStrike4Climate, the UK Student Climate Network and the UK Youth Climate Coalition, to demand action from the British Government, it added.
The coalition, as per the report, said that the campaigns are "driven by an alarming lack of Government leadership on climate action over previous decades."
The coalition is calling on the Government to declare "a state of climate emergency" and educate the British public in the seriousness of global warming, it added.
They are also demanding a change to the school curriculum which will include climate change.
The coalition wants young people to be included in decision-making and is also calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16.
Youth voices are too often left out of the discussion when it comes to climate change, the BBC report noted.
It further quoted the government stating that, “It is for individual schools to decide what to do about pupils walking out on Friday” but stressing that term-time leave should be given in exceptional circumstances only.
Anna Taylor, of UK Student Climate Network, said: "We're running out of time for meaningful
