The verdict of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the Climate Action Summit, which convened Monday in New York, was that "time is running out." The emphasis of that meeting was "action." Guterres said only governments that made commitments to control climate change that went beyond previous pledges would be allowed to speak at the gathering. Scientists are increasingly concerned that it is too late for even bold steps; the climate is already changing and only radical programs can hope to work.
It has been a busy week for climate activism. Last Friday, young people across the planet went on strike, taking to the streets to demand radical action to address climate change. It is estimated that students from 156 countries joined the Global Climate Strike, with total crowd size reckoned to have reached 4 million people. That is a substantial jump from the 1.4 million who marched during the first strike in March.
An estimated 270,000 people protested in Berlin, as many as 250,000 demonstrated in New York, 100,000 in London and a similar number demanded action in Australia. In Japan, the numbers were much smaller. Less than 3,000 gathered in front of the U.N. University building in Shibuya, and groups demanded change in other major cities. Organizers in Japan bemoaned a lack of interest and a low turnout among this country's youth. That is at odds with government polls that consistently show strong majority support for Japanese contributions to help solve problems such as global warming.