The young climate movement that has to grow up fast

In August 2018, a young Swedish activist named Greta Thunberg went on strike for the first time in front of the Swedish Parliament. The rest is history: millions of young people joined the young Swede's inspiring protest. With success. The birth of the world's largest climate movement was started by school children and students. But what does it mean for young people to bear the burden of the looming climate collapse, between pandemic and slow party politics? A conversation with Zohra Barthelemy, Julie Weisheit, and Jerry Simon of Youth for Climate Luxembourg.

Zohra, Julie and Jerry came to the climate movement by similar paths. 18-year-old Zohra explains that her generation grew up with the climate problem. She recalls writing about global warming in school essays as early as age nine. She attributes this to her parents, who instilled an ecological conscience in her at a young age.

It was even more intense for Jerry Simon, 19, a student at the Lycée Ermesinde. His father is a well-known peace activist. As a child, Jerry often went along to protests and party conventions of the déi Lénk. "Of course, it rubs off a little, but I have my own mind and my own ideas", Jerry laughs.