Nearly 10,000 people, according to police, marched Friday in Vancouver, Canada's Pacific coast, to protest against political inaction on climate change alongside young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
"It is shameful that the current climate and ecological emergency has been ignored for so long, we are in 2019 and the people in power are still acting as if there is no tomorrow, and we, the young people, are telling them to stop ignoring the consequences of their actions and their inactions, "said the teenager to the applause of the crowd.
Impacts of climate change on a daily basis
Before the protest, fifteen young Canadians, all underage, announced that they had filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court against the Government of Canada, accusing them of not having a "credible" plan to fight climate change. In turn, these young people claimed to be impacted by climate change in their daily lives.
Sierra Robinson, 17, said she had difficulty breathing because of forest fire smoke, which is becoming more prevalent on Vancouver Island. She also claimed to have Lyme disease, transmitted by ticks, following the spread of these insects in Canada with rising temperatures.
Greta Thunberg took part at the end of September in Montreal in a giant demonstration gathering nearly half a million people according to the organizers. Continuing her "electric vehicle" journey through North America, she participated in another event last Friday in Alberta, at the heart of Canada's petroleum industry. The young Swede will then travel to Santiago, Chile, in December to attend a new UN climate conference.