Despite rain and fears over Covid-19 as many as 30,000 people have gathered in a youth protest in Britain where Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg was the star attraction.
While addressing the gathering in Bristol, the 17-year-old Greta said that the world is on fire and leaders are behaving like children.
“I will not be silenced while the world is on fire - will you?” said Thunberg.
“This emergency is being completely ignored by the politicians, the media and those in power. Nothing is being done ... despite all the beautiful words.”
Said Greta: "Once again they sweep their mess under the rug, for us young people - for their children - to clean up for them."
"But we must continue and we have to be patient and remember that the changes required will not happen overnight since the politics and the solutions needed are still far from sight.
"But if enough people are pushing for change then change will come and we are those people and every single person counts."
Greta further said that throughout history, all the great changes have come from the people.
Supporters held placards reading: “Change the politics not the climate”, “The ocean is rising so are we!” and “At this point education is pointless.”
Thunberg has been in Britain since last weekend. On Tuesday she visited the University of Oxford, where she met Malala Yousafzai, the 22-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner and campaigner for girls’ education, who is studying there.
Damian Talbot