>>> GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO

"METROFOCUS" I'M RAFAEL PI

ROMAN.

GRETA THUNBERG WILL BE THOSE

LEADING THE CLIMATE STRIKE,

WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BE

WALKING OUT OF SCHOOLS AND ON TO

THE STREETS TO PROTEST IN ACTION

ON CLIMATE CHANGE IN

ANTICIPATION OF THE UNITED

NATIONS CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT ON

MONDAY.

NEW YORK CITY IS GIVING PUBLIC

SCHOOL STUDENTS PERMISSION TO

SKIP CLASSES FOR THE STRIKE, AND

THAT MEANS THAT 1.1 MILLION CITY

KIDS COULD POTENTIALLY BE

PARTICIPATING IN THIS

UNPRECEDENTED EVENT.

A NUMBER OF CELEBRITIES

INCLUDING JADEN AND WILLOW SMITH

ARE PLANNING TO JOIN THEM.

PART OF OUR ONGOING INITIATIVE,

PERIL IN PROMISE, THE

16-YEAR-OLD NATALIE SWEET,

COHEAD OF ZERO NYC, A STUDENT

RUN ORGANIZATION LOOKING TO

COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE.

WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

>> CAN YOU GIVE ME A HISTORY ON

WHAT'S HAPPENING TOMORROW AND

HOW IT BECAME A PHENOMENON.

>> STUDENTS DO STRIKE IN FRONT

O.UN AND ACROSS THE WORLD EVERY

SINGLE FRIDAY.

THAT'S PART OF THE FRIDAYS FOR

FUTURE MOVEMENT.

A BUNCH OF THE ORGANIZES ARE

PART OF FRIDAYS FOR FUTURE, SO

THIS STRIKE ISN'T UNUSUAL TO

THEM.

I HAVE BEEN AMONG THOSE STRIKING

AT THE UN.

I MISSED THE STRIKE LAST FRIDAY

BUT I WAS STRIKING THE FRIDAY

BEFORE THAT WITH GRETA.

THE REASON WE CHOSE SEPTEMBER

20th TO MAKE IT A BIG

MOBILIZATION DATE IS BECAUSE

THERE WILL BE MANY PEOPLE

ALREADY ENGAGED WITH THE CLIMATE

CONSIDERING THAT THE UN YOUTH

ACTIVIST SUMMIT IS THE NEXT DAY,

AND THE UN CLIMATE WEEK WILL BE

FOLLOWING SO IN NEW YORK CITY,

THERE WILL BE A LOT OF

INTERNATIONAL YOUTH WHO ARE

COMING TO THE SUMMIT SO WE WANT

TO MAKE IT A CHANCE FOR THEM TO

MOBILIZE AND MAKE SURE THEIR

VOICES ARE HEARD BEFORE

ATTENDING THIS MONUMENTAL

SUMMIT.

>> SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE SOME

OF THE OTHER COUNTRIES BEYOND

NEW YORK THAT ARE PARTICIPATING

IN THIS?

>> WELL, SWEDEN IS

PARTICIPATING, THAT'S GRETA'S

HOME COUNTRY AND WE HAVE STRIKES

IN CHINA, INDIA, THERE ARE OVER

150 STRIKE LOCATIONS AND I THINK

THAT WAS WHEN WE FIRST STARTED,

NOW THERE ARE OVER 750 STRIKE

LOCATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD.

THAT'S AMAZING, WE HAVE NEVER

SEEN A CLIMATE MOBILIZATION LIKE

THIS BEFORE.

>> IS THIS STRICTLY LIMITED TO

YOUNG PEOPLE OR ARE ADULTS

INVITED.

>> ADULTS ARE INVITED TO THE

PARTY BUT IT IS THE YOUNG PEOPLE

MOVEMENT.

YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BE AFFECTED BY

CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WE WANT OUR

ADULT ALLIES TO STAND WITH US

AND CERTAINLY TO VOTE WITH US.

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT MYSELF,

I'M ONLY 16, I CAN'T DO THAT,

AND I KNOW A LOT OF US ARE IN

THE SAME BOAT.

IT IS A YOUTH LED MOVEMENT AND

IN NEW YORK, WE'RE ACTUALLY

PRIORITIZING HAVING THE YOUTH

SPEAK AND BE AT THE FRONT OF THE

MARCH BUT WE ARE SO INCREDIBLY

GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE ADULT

ALLIES, FROM CLIMATE NEXUS 350.

>> WHO ARE SOME OF THESE PEOPLE

AND SOME OF THOSE ORGANIZATIONS,

WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT JUST

BEFORE THE CAMERAS TURNED ON.

>> GREEN PIECE IS ONE OF THE

CLIMATE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE

BEEN SUPPORTING US WITH THIS, AS

WELL AS 360 AND CLIMATE NEXUS

AND PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MOVEMENT

AND THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THAT

AREN'T NECESSARILY CLIMATE

ORGANIZATIONS BUT THEY HAVE BEEN

PROACTIVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND

SUPPORTING US, SOME THAT KIND TO

MIND ARE PATAGONIA, LUSH, THE

MAKEUP AND BEAUTY COMPANY, AS

WELL AS TUMBLER AND WORD PRESS.

>> AND THERE ARE WORKERS FROM

AMAZON AND GOOGLE I THINK THAT

ARE ACTUALLY, THEY'RE NOT

ALLOWED, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE

GIVEN THE TIME OFF.

THEY'RE JUST GOING OUT.

THOUSANDS.

>> THERE ARE OVER A THOUSAND

WORKERS FROM AMAZON, GOOGLE, AND

I THINK MICROSOFT IS THE OTHER

COMPANY THAT WILL BE MOVING TO

STRIKE, AND THEY WILL BE JOINING

THE NEW YORK CITY STRIKE, AND

WE'RE REALLY HELP TO HAVE THESE

ALLIES WITH US.

IT'S HONESTLY IMPORTANT TO SEE

WORKERS LEAVING THEIR WORKPLACE

FOR THE CLIMATE.

>> WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THIS

FIGHT?

>> WELL, I GOT INVOLVED MY

FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL

WHEN I ATTENDED A SMALL LOCAL

CLIMATE CONFERENCE AND THAT'S

WHEN I FIRST FOUND OUT ABOUT

ZERO HOUR.

SO

ZERO HOUR WAS IN THE PLANNING

STAGES.

I WAS NEVER INTERESTED IN

CLIMATE ACTIVISM BEFORE BUT THE

WILDFIRES WERE THAT YEAR, AND MY

COUSINS WHO LIVE IN CALIFORNIA,

THEIR SCHOOLS WERE ACTIVELY SHUT

DOWN BECAUSE OF THE SMOKE IN THE

AIR.

MY FRIEND ALEXANDRIA VILLA SENOR

WHO IS A CLIMATE ACTIVIST, THE

THIRD TO START AFTER GRETA, HAD

TO MOVE FROM DAVIS, CALIFORNIA,

BECAUSE OF THESE FIRES, SO I CAN

SEE THE EFFECT THAT THEY HAD ON

MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS AND I

WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I COULD

HELP THEM OUT AND DO WHAT I CAN

BECAUSE I LIVE IN A PRETTY

PRIVILEGED COMMUNITY OF NEW YORK

CITY, AND HONESTLY, I DON'T HAVE

THE EXPOSURE THAT A LOT OF OTHER

PEOPLE DO, SO I JOINED SZERO HOR

TO SEE HOW I CAN MAKE A

DIFFERENCE AND HOW OTHERS CAN DO

THE SAME.

>> HOW REPRESENTATIVE ARE YOU OF

YOUR CLASSMATES AND PEERS, DO

MOST YOUNG PEOPLE AGREE WITH

YOU?

>> MOST YOUNG PEOPLE DO.

ONE OF MY CLASSMATES SAID WHAT

IS THE PURPOSE OF STRIKING AND

HONESTLY I FEEL THAT TO BE

ABSURD BECAUSE I DEMANDED ACTION

FROM OUR LEADERS BY ACTIVELY

DISRUPTING THE SCHOOL DAY, BUT

ALSO BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE

OUR ISSUE THAT AFFECTS US THE

MOST.

EVERYONE IS GOING TO SUFFER

BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

INEVITABLY IF WE DON'T DO

SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

THE SCIENCE SAYS THAT.

ONE OF OUR CORE CHEERS IS UNITE

BEHIND THE SCIENCE.

IF MY PEERS AREN'T UNITING

BEHIND THE SCIENCE, I WANT TO DO

FRG I CAN TO INCITE THEM TO

ACTION, TO INCITE THEM TO

REALIZE, WE'RE HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS, I'M IN YOUR PHYSICS

CLASS, WE KNOW ABOUT THE

SCIENCE.

>> BESIDES INCITING YOUR PIERCE

TO ACTION, WHAT ARE THE GOALS

THAT YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE THROUGH

THIS GLOBAL STRIKE?

>> WELL, GENERALLY THE MISSION

IS TO CALL OUR WORLD LEADERS TO

ACTION.

DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE'S A

UN CONFERENCE, THE UNITED STATES

SPECIFICALLY HAS BEEN INACTIVE

ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE EPA IS

ACTUALLY ROLLING BACK ON SOME OF

THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE SEEN

THAT HAVE BEEN GOOD FOR THE

CLIMATE.

OUR EPA STEPPED OUT OF THE PARIS

CLIMATE ACCORD, THAT WAS A BIG

STEP BACKWARDS, WE ARE DEMANDING

GENERAL ACTION BUT THERE ARE

MORE SPECIFIC GOALS ON OUR WEB

SITES, STRIKE WITH US.ORG AND

GLOBAL CLIMATE.NET, SOME ARE

ACCEPTING A GREEN NEW DEAL SO

100% DIVESTMENT FROM THE FOSSIL

FUEL INDUSTRY BY 2030, AS WELL

AS PROTECTING INDIGENOUS AND

FRONT LINE COMMUNITIES AND

PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY AS WE

CAN SEE IT BEING DESTROYED IN

THE AMAZON WILDFIRES AND OTHER

PLACES.

>> ARE YOU OPTIMISTIC THAT WHAT

YOU BELIEVE NEEDS TO BE DONE

WILL BE DONE IN TIME?

>> I AM OPTIMISTIC.

I SEE THIS MOVEMENT OF YOUTH

THAT STARTED FROM A COUPLE OF

STUDENTS STRIKING ALL THE WAY TO

AN ESTIMATED OVER 100,000

STUDENTS JOINING THIS MOVEMENT

ON THE NEW YORK CITY STREETS AND

THAT'S ONLY ONE CITY.

THERE ARE 750 OTHER STRIKE

LOCATIONS THAT WILL BE TAKING

PLACE AND TO SEE THIS

MOBILIZATION GIVES ME HOPE.

>> NATALIE, THANK YOU SO MUCH

FOR JOINING ME TODAY.

>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

SUCH AN IMPORTANT ISSUE, THANK

YOU.