Ivan De Luce/Business Insider
Students gather at Foley Square in Manhattan's Financial District.
- An estimated 250,000 demonstrators gathered at Manhattan's Foley Square on Friday for the Global Climate Strike - and most of them were Gen Zers.
- The catalyst for the march, 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, has become an inspiration for the young generation passionate about climate change.
- Business Insider spoke with Gen Z demonstrators at the strike to find out what they had to say about the demonstration, Thunberg, and the dangers of ignoring climate change.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Young people around the world are on strike.
An estimated 250,000 demonstrators gathered at Foley Square in Manhattan on Friday as part of the Global Climate Strike. New York is just one of hundreds of cities in 156 countries and regions (including Antarctica) with thousands of protesters filling the streets. For the most part, they've all been students.
New York's Education Department let students skip class to join the ranks in the march, which began at 12:30 pm, making its way down Broadway toward Battery Park. Despite students getting the city's permission to attend the strike, teachers were barred from it to avoid political influence in the classroom.
One of the main reasons Gen Zers are passionate about climate change is Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who gained worldwide attention after skipping school to protest in front of Stockholm's parliament building last year. Since then, she has met with former President Barack Obama, sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to lower her carbon footprint, and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Here's what Gen Zers had to say about the strike, Thunberg, and the dangers of ignoring climate change.
