In 2019, the student-led climate action movement took the world by storm. United by universal passions for environmental justice, networks of student protests spread across the globe, major cities including London, Delhi, Istanbul, and Washington DC becoming alive with calls for government action.
I took part in the September protests that year in London, joining fellow students who were united outside Parliament, wearing punked-up, spray-painted school uniforms and homemade placards. I felt the air electrified with outrage, excitement, rebellion, and, most importantly, hope. It supercharged my passion for protests and opened my eyes to how students can mobilise to become the architects of our own future, in which environmental and social justice take centre stage.
Being there together and present with young people from all corners of the world, turning our fears into action, made me believe that the future we were fighting for is at our fingertips.
However, those days of student rebellion were soon cut short by the global pandemic, and since then, media coverage of climate change has taken a backseat position. The fierce passion that drove the 2019 student climate protests has become subdued and disconnected. Despite this, the determination for student-led climate campaigns is still very much alive.
With Climate Justice Week just having taken place, this is the perfect opportunity to get involved in our university’s own climate change campaigns.
There are a variety of climate movements in Brighton, and I am part of two on-campus groups that you can also get involved with today. Sussex Against Fossil Fuels (SAFF) is a student-led campaign aiming to encourage the university to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global initiative committed to orchestrating the transition away from fossil fuels through collaboration with governments, organisations, institutions and individuals.
SAFF is also associated with Global Justice Youth, so this campaign is a great way to connect with the UK’s network of youth climate campaigns. Another climate change organisation, Friends of the Earth, has just launched its first campus-based campaign here at Sussex, giving students the space to voice aspects of the climate crisis they think should be addressed on campus and in the local area. You can find both Friends of the Earth Sussex and SAFF on Instagram to discover upcoming events and projects.
The scale of the climate crisis may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but it’s easy to feel overwhelmed witnessing the catastrophes faced by millions of people across the world and our own government’s inertia towards the problem.
But it’s so important to remember that global change starts with local action.
So, get involved, share your stories and ideas with like-minded people and help us re-ignite the outrage and hope that the 2019 climate protests sparked.
Another article you may enjoy – https://thebadgeronline.com/2026/03/hate-thy-neighbour-is-this-a-crunch-point-for-coldean/
