Students occupy 10 schools and universities in Portugal
“we are studying for a future, that we are not going to have.” –
Students from End Fossil: Occupy! occupy 10 schools and universities in Portugal with more to follow locally as well as internationally
14th of November 2023: Yesterday, students from the climate justice campaign “End Fossil: Occupy!” in Portugal started a wave of actions against fossil fuels. They promise governments and institutions that there will be no peace until they create a plan that guarantees a future for the younger generations.
This Monday, 10 schools in Portugal had seen several actions. The front door of one University was blocked. A class given by the dean of another University was interrupted and the auditorium was occupied to give a talk about climate vs capitalism. There were several banner drops and five schools were occupied.
“We are occupying our shools for two reasons.”, says Beatriz, 19 and spokesperson from the Portugal actions, “First, we need to alert society and felllow students to the fact that we are studying for a future, that we are not going to have. But also because schools are the space were the youth can organise to fight against injustice in society. Historically, student struggles have been many times at the forefront of social change”
The demands of the portuguese actions are: The end of fossil fuels until 2030 and 100% renewable and acessible eletricity for everyone by 2025. Since the only non renewable source of eletricity in Portugal is fossil gas, this would mean that Portugal would stop using gas by 2025, making this the “Last Winter of Gas”. Last Winter of gas is also an international campaign that demands the end of fossil gas in Europe until 2025.
“We can’t give peace to the political institutions until they guarantee us this is the ‘Last Winter of Gas’. This must be the first urgent step to put an end to the fossil fuels in Europe”, says Beatriz, “Since before we were born, governments have been deciding to condemn our future in exchange for profit, we can’t sit aside and let them sell our future to the highest bidder. That’s why in Portugal we are saying: ‘Sem futuro não há paz’ (No Future, No Peace).”
More actions are going to happen during this week. Some other schools are going to join in the actions and the portuguese students are also going to disrupt political institutions. On the 24th, the students from all these schools are going to occupy the ministry of environment. End Fossil: Occupy! also anounced to occupy and disrupt educational as well as political institutions in several other countries.
A selection of photos from 13th can be found under this link: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB3fWN
Contact End Fossil: Occupy! Portugal:
E-mail: imprensa@greveclimaticalisboa.org
Homepage: greveclimaticalisboa.org
Contact End Fossil: Occupy! International:
E-Mail: media@endfossil.com
Homepage: www.endfossil.com
End Fossil: Occupy! is an international youth action occupying schools, universities and political institutions to disrupt the fossil economy. The vast majority of our campaign activity is conducted by unpaid volunteer activists. Climate Emergency Fund supports End Fossil’s international communications work.
