Faced with devastating wildfires in Canada and the resulting polluted air on the east coast of the United States, the climate protection organization Fridays for Future criticized the companies and called on them to support their protests. “The images of New York look like science fiction. They are making it visible to the whole world: we have arrived at the climate dystopia that we have been warning about for decades,” climate activist Luisa Neubauer told our editorial team. “Obvious things like the air we can breathe are being taken away from people and freedoms are being restricted. »
Neubauer, who is one of the main organizers of Fridays for Future in Germany, added: “The fires in Canada should be named after fossil fuel companies, they are responsible for climate destruction all over the world . They are currently making record profits and we are paying for all their profits by destroying our livelihoods. »
Smoke from forest fires in Canada is increasingly restricting social life and the economy of major cities on the east coast of the United States. New York City public schools, for example, switched to distance learning this Friday. In Philadelphia, the city suspended trash collection and street cleaning to protect workers from air pollution. In the US capital Washington DC, the city government closed all public parks and suspended road construction and paving work. US President Joe Biden spoke of a “gross” indication of the consequences of climate change and announced that additional firefighting teams would be sent to Canada.
The United Nations climate conference is currently taking place in Bonn. Experts have painted a bleak picture: they say human-caused global warming has already reached an increase of 1.14 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels over the decade from 2013 to 2022.
“Concepts of ecological transformation are on the table. What is missing is collective pressure for rapid implementation,” said activist Neubauer. “We need all the strength of society to end the destruction of fossil fuels. We are calling on people more than ever to take to the streets with us.”
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