Students from Scotland have participated in a global protest on September 24, 2021, seeking immediate action on climate change. The group Friday for Future Scotland (FFS), founded by young people from Scotland in early 2019, organized climate strikes around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Ullapool. Greta Thunberg, the famous young environmental activist, leads the wider effort in 700 places worldwide. From Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park, the students walked to the city’s George Square. Hundreds also came together in Edinburgh outside the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood. The program took place five weeks before Glasgow’s hosting in the United Nations’ climate change conference, COP26.

“I felt hopeless not doing anything. These school strikes are one thing that definitely bring a lot of people some hope and they are really important,” said a 14-year-old from Glasgow named Leah Duffy who participated in the FFS movement. Duffy added that this effort just shows the youth’s willingness to “sacrifice their own education in order to get this message across.” On the other hand, 17-year-old Sandy Boyd from Trinity Academy called young people across Scotland to take a stand for a week during COP26, from November 1 to November 5, 2021. Meanwhile, the Scottish government says its aim to reduce emissions is one of the toughest in the world, with a promise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by the year 2045.