The organizers of Youth Climate Strike Los Angeles along with protesters will be joined by Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg Friday in a climate strike outside Los Angeles City Hall to protest fossil fuel production in California.
Thunberg, 16, recently sailed to the United States in a zero-emissions sailboat and has been gradually making her way across the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. After a very successful strike by the Los Angeles Youth Climate Strike on Sept. 20, which was joined by thousands of participants, the youth are striking again.
The event will involve keynote speakers and musicians who are young activists from Los Angeles, as well as Thunberg. Together, striking youth will demand Gov. Gavin Newsom act immediately to protect frontline communities and the state's climate future by phasing out fossil fuel production in California.
The protesters plan to march to Newsom's L.A. office at 300 Spring St. at 1 p.m. with signs that read: "Governor Newsom, it's your Last Chance to Choose: Our Future or Fossil Fuels.''
Despite its global reputation as a climate leader, California remains one of the largest oil-producing states in the country. Los Angeles itself is home to the largest urban oil field in the nation, where active oil wells drill for fossil fuels near homes, schools and parks, according to a statement publicizing Thunberg's participation in today's event.
The strike is a part of the Fridays For Future movement, which involves strikes around the world every Friday. These strikes send a message that the youth are missing school to protect their own futures and that young people will continue their fight against the climate crisis until politicians take enough action to reverse its trajectory, according to the statement.
