SYDNEY (May 21): Thousands of Australian students skipped school on Friday and gathered with climate activists to call on the government to stop funding the gas industry, taking aim at Prime Minister Scott Morrison's plans to fund a new gas plant. During the event dubbed "School Strike 4 Climate" (SS4C), tens of thousands of students congregated across some 50 Australian cities and towns, organisers said. This week, Australia committed A$600 million ($468 million) towards a new gas-fired power plant. "A bit of rain won't stop us," Sydney mayor Clover Moore tweeted, adding "we won't stop until the Federal Government gets serious about climate action." State government officials in New South Wales, the country's largest state, had urged students to stay in school, to little effect.

Source: The Edge Markets May 21, 2021 07:41 UTC