With 10 days to go before important national elections in the Netherlands, their aim is to remind people that the issue of the climate crisis needs to be put higher on the political agenda.
Carrying placards reading “Our house is on fire,” “2050: “Dad, what are the trees?” and “Climate justice now,” demonstrators gathered in Amsterdam’s central square and marched through the city’s streets.
Organizers, a coalition of environmental groups that includes organizations such as Extinction Rebellion, Fridays for Future, Oxfam, Greenpeace and others, said about 70,000 people took part in the march. people and that the previous record for such a march was surpassed.
“We are not standing on the brink of a catastrophe, we are living in it,” Thunberg told the audience.
“For decades, people on the front lines of the climate crisis have been directly facing its effects and sounding the alarm, but we have not listened,” she added.
Her speech was briefly interrupted by a protester who said the demonstration was focusing too much on politics rather than the climate.
“The atmosphere is amazing. I feel the energy of many young people who want to change the world,” 19-year-old political science student Tijn Veenhoven told AFP.
“I’m just angry because the world is angry and nobody is doing anything,” said 18-year-old physics student Ieke Snel.
Polls show a central power struggle in the Netherlands between outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who represents the center-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), and a new party, the NSC, led by anti-corruption fighter Pieter Omtzigt.
According to polls, the coalition of the Green Party and the left-wing PvdA should take third place. This party is led by the influential former European Commissioner Frans Timmermans, who is the architect of the EU’s green deal agenda.
Polls show that the main issues of this election campaign are the ongoing housing crisis in the Netherlands, living standards and immigration.
According to a recent poll by I&O research, climate change ranks fifth among voters’ concerns after housing, health care, immigration and poverty.
According to this poll, climate change is now seen as a less important issue than it was during the previous 2021 election.
“With crises mounting and the Netherlands’ 2030 climate goals just six years away, the upcoming elections are of the utmost importance,” said a joint statement by the organizers of the demonstration.
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2024-09-20 06:26:10
