Thousands of Australians marched through every capital city across the country to protest what they say is a lack of government action on climate change and thedeadly bushfire crisis which has beendevastating the country . The fires have killed at least 28 people, as well as an estimated1 billion animals .
Despite the rainy weather, protesters gathered on Friday in cities including Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide. It marked the first major national demonstrations since thefire season started in late July. Since then, the flames havedestroyed millions of acres of land and several thousand homes.
********** As deadly bushfires swept across Australia, tens of thousands of people rallied in multiple cities on January (***************************************************************************************************, calling for the conservative government to act on global warming. Getty Images
The nationwide rallies were organized by the national student organization Uni Students for Climate Justice, which believes Prime Minister Scott Morrison isn’t responding adequately to the gravity of the situation, which scholars say is linked to climate change.
“We’re protesting this Friday because we’re outraged about our government criminal negligence about the
bushfire crisis, exacerbated by climate change. We are protesting to give a voice to the tens of thousands of people who want real action on climate change and real funding for relief services, “the organizationsaid on Facebook . Several of Friday’s protests are under the slogan “Sack ScoMo ,” referring to Scott Morrison. Signs held by protestors read “We deserve more than your negligence,” “This is ecosystem collapse,” “Make Fossil Fuels History” and “We can’t breathe.”
Protesters march through Melbourne in response to the ongoing bushfire crisis in Australia. Getty Images
Politicians and police criticized the protests, saying that resources would need to be pulled away from the bushfires in order to monitor the crowds.
Australia is the world’slargest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas, which is driving dramatic growth in the country greenhouse gas pollution. But Morrison rejects criticism that his government is contributing to the crisis.
“We don’t want job-destroying, economy-destroying, economy-wrecking targets and goals, which won’t change the fact that there have been bushfires or anything like that in Australia, “Morrison said in a radio interview Friday,Reuters reports .
****** Protesters demanding the government take immediate action against climate change in Sydney. Getty Images
Earlier this week, the Australian federal government announced it would establish anew agency with an initial $ 2 billion to coordinate the response to rebuild communities and livelihoods after the devastating fires have passed.
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Australia fires: Pictures from the deadly wildfires photos
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