Fossil Free AU plans to participate in a massive protest for government climate change action, in New York City on Sept. 21, according to School of International Service senior Deirdre Shelly, a lead organizer for the group.
The People’s Climate March will take place ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit 2014 on Sept. 23. The march is not formally coordinated with the summit but will take place as government and business leaders gather in New York for the Summit on Sept. 23, according to the People’s Climate FAQ page.
Fossil Free AU has exceeded its goal of one hundred students going to the March, according to Shelly. As of Sept. 9, over 160 people had signed up, according to Shelly.
Fossil Free AU discussed plans to go to the march at its “Fall Kick-Off” event on Sept. 7. The group also screened “Disruption,” a documentary that looks at climate change and the activist movement against it, according to Fossil Free AU’s lead organizer Rebecca Wolf, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Some students participating in the march will also attend a Youth Convergence conference to attend workshops about engaging in the climate change protest movement, according to Shelly.
“Sunday is the march, and that’s going to be really a celebration of the climate movement and its just, I think it is going to be very fun [and] festive,” Shelly said.
Getting ready for the march is the current main priority of Fossil Free AU, according to Shelly.
“I think we’re just going to just continue to strengthen the coalition, and put pressure on the [Board of Trustees] as developments come in about what they’re deciding, to get them to commit to divestment,” Shelly said of Fossil Free AU’s other plans for the semester.
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