The global movement Fridays for Future, also known as Youth for Climate, arrives on Friday (14) in Belém, which is hosting COP30, the United Nations climate conference.
Young activists take to the streets of Estação das Docas towards Praça da República, in the central district of the capital, Pará. The demonstration calls on political leaders to take effective action against the progress of climate change and the end of the fossil fuel industry.
The movement was created and popularized by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. She gained international fame through the lone protests she promoted every Friday in Stockholm, a movement that later united millions of people in action against climate change.
The last conference Greta participated in was its 26th edition in Glasgow, Scotland. At the time, she called the event the “Greenwashing Festival from the Global North” – a term used to refer to the practice of selling an environmentally responsible image without real changes.
Regarding the 27th COP, in Egypt, the activist repeated the accusation of greenwashing and criticized the lack of space for civil society in the negotiations. The following year, the conference was held in the United Arab Emirates, and Greta stated that its results were “a stab in the back for the most vulnerable groups.”
Last year, the activist also criticized Azerbaijan, which hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29). She described the country as an “authoritarian oil state” and told the press that the country’s choice to host the event was “beyond ridiculous”, because its economy depends on the oil and gas market.
Under the slogan “Move Now,” Friday’s mobilization in Belém combines simultaneous protests in several countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, the Republic of the Congo and Sweden.
Daniel Holland, 22, is one of the organizers of the event in Belem. The return of protest is celebrated in the country hosting the COP, as the event was no longer held in the last three editions due to authoritarian regimes in the host countries.
“Traditionally, global strikes take place during the COP, on the Friday of the first week. In the last three years, we have not had that right to protest in the streets, unfortunately,” he said. Bound.
In Belém, the main focus of the event will be the end of fossil fuels, protecting the Amazon, a just transition, financing the most affected communities, climate justice and the leadership role of youth in these discussions.
“We urgently need an energy transition,” Holland said. “We have made little progress in combating the climate crisis, but it is not yet time to step back. It is time for us to move faster, because we have crossed the 1.5°C limit,” he commented, citing the limit set by the Paris Agreement for increasing the average global temperature, above which climate impacts become significantly more dangerous.
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