Climate activists take global protest online during pandemic

Luisa Neubauer of Fridays for Future movement lays out protest posters for climate protection in front of the German parliament building the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, Friday, April 24, 2020. Because of the continuing spread of the coronavirus, the climate strike will be digitally distributed on the Internet. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)

BERLIN — Youth groups staged Friday a long-planned global climate demonstration online because of restrictions on public protests during the coronavirus pandemic.

The student group Fridays for Future, whose past rallies have drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets worldwide, is using a live stream to call on world leaders to act against global warming.

Some groups have found creative ways to stage very limited demonstrations despite the lockdown. In Berlin, activists placed thousands of protest placards in front of the German parliament.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 17, the most prominent face of the youth climate movement, said Wednesday during an online Earth Day event that the climate crisis “may not be as immediate as the corona crisis but we need to tackle this now, otherwise, it will be irreversible.”