Climate strike and critical mass – climate and bicycle activists on the move in Zurich
Climate and bicycle activists on the move in Zurich
On Friday evening, several protest trains are on the move in the city of Zurich.
On the occasion of the global climate strike day, several hundred people gathered in Zurich late Friday afternoon: They are demanding an expansion of renewable energies – also for the sake of peace. The organizers later announced that around 2,000 people had taken part in the Zurich climate strike.
The climate crisis and the war in Ukraine would show “that we finally have to get away from fossil fuels,” the organizers said. But there is no response from politicians or it is even pointing in the wrong direction – for example with the new gas-fired power plants propagated by the Federal Council.
The event, which was held under the motto «Against new gas power plants! For the expansion of renewables” booth, started late Friday afternoon on Helvetiaplatz. The participants then paraded through downtown Zurich.
“Now I’ll block the freeways”
A young woman wrote on her poster that she was fed up with climate demos. “Now I’ll block the freeways.” Others held up signs that read “Very thin ice” or “No dreams without trees”.
Other posters referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “Whoever buys gas organizes war” and “Turn the heating down, sweater on”, it said. For the climate strike movement, it is clear that renewable energies must be “massively expanded”, as one speaker stated. And: “This is the only way to ensure a peaceful and sustainable future.”
Two protest marches in one evening
On Friday evening, the Critical Mass also cycled through Zurich – a protest procession in which bicycle activists meet for a joint bike ride through the city. From Bürkliplatz it goes via the Wiedikon train station to Langstrasse and the train station bridge. The aim is to achieve a “critical mass” so that motorized traffic can be treated as equals. The Critical Mass takes place on the last Friday of each month and has been created several times in the past for traffic obstructions.
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