In many countries, people demonstrated on Good Friday for more climate protection. In Rome, several thousand predominantly young people gathered - among them was the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. "We will continue our struggle for our future," promised the 16-year-old student under the cheers of the crowd in the central Piazza del Popolo.
Thunberg has been demonstrating every Friday since last summer - usually during school - for more ambitious climate protection. Their school strike has inspired people around the world to participate in demonstrations under the motto "Fridays for Future".
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Hundreds of people gathered in many cities in Germany, including Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg and Dusseldorf. "The climate crisis does not end, we do not," wrote the activist Luisa Neubauer on Twitter. Some of the students were criticized for demonstrating during school, not for their free time.
Thunberg campaigned in Rome for a radical change in climate policy. But it takes years to make a difference. "In many situations I'm silent, but if it's something that really moves me, then I'm a rebel," she told the newspaper "Corriere della Sera" about her motivation.
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"With Greta we save the planet," chanted Thunberg's collaborators in Rome. A spokeswoman for the "Fridays for Future" movement in Italy estimated the number of participants at about 25,000 demonstrators.
Power for the stage was supplied by bicycles mounted on generators. Thunberg fired the cyclists in the blazing sun: "Go on!"
The "Fridays for Future" movement has many supporters in Italy too. The key demands: a quick end to the climate-damaging combustion of coal, oil and gas, no more subsidies for these "dirty" energy sources, more investment in renewable energy from wind power and the sun.
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In fact, time is pressing: According to findings of the IPCC, the Earth has already warmed by about one degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. The years 2015 to 2018 were, according to analyzes of the World Weather Organization, the four warmest since the beginning of the records in the 19th century.
Protest against oil and energy companies in Paris
If things continue as before, the world is probably a good three degrees warmer at the end of this century than at the beginning of industrialization. Depending on the region, consequences include more and more severe heat waves, prolonged droughts and more violent storms, heavy rain and floods. To stop the trend, the emission of greenhouse gases from the combustion of coal, oil and gas, as well as from agriculture, especially animal husbandry, must be greatly reduced.
Protests against the climate crisis also caused a stir in Great Britain. The police arrested nearly 600 environmental activists in five days in London. They blocked roads and bridges, following a call from the "Extinction Rebellion" movement. The action also involved British actress Emma Thompson.
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Greta Thunberg: A student and the climateHundreds of climate activists also demonstrated in the high-rise La Défense, located to the west of Paris. Dozens gathered at the entrance of the oil company Total. Security forces removed around 100 people from the building of the state energy company EDF. When deployed in La Défense, the police also used tear gas.