Thousands expected to join Greta Thunberg in Brussels climate march

Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg will be among the 5,000 demonstrators expected to march in the latest school strike for the climate in Brussels.

Organisers called for the participants to gather at Gare Centrale as they prepare to set out through Brussels at around 2:00 PM.

Police said traffic disruptions were to be expected from 1:30 PM and last until around 4:30, as the demonstrators make their way from downtown Brussels to the Parc Du Cinquantenaire.

“Organisers said they expected some 5,000 demonstrators to join them but we will post the official count during the day,” a police spokesperson told The Brussels Times.

The march is expected to pass through the EU quarter, where some 50 demonstrators from around the EU, including the Swedish teen activist, held a protest on Thursday that coincided with a meeting of EU environment ministers.

Demain (06/03), une marche pour le climat #YouthforClimate #StudentsforClimate aura lieu à #Bruxelles. Départ de la Gare Centrale, arrivée Schuman. Des embarras de circulation sont à prévoir entre 13h30 et 16h30.
⤵ Parcours ⤵https://t.co/wY6kgFsKzj

— PolBru (@zpz_polbru) March 5, 2020

Organised by Youth for Climate and some dozen other organisations, Brussels’ latest climate march will see youth from around Belgium pour into the streets of the Belgian capital, with collective departures organised from cities like Liège, Leuven, Ghent, Antwerp and Mons.

Thunberg will be joined by other international climate strikers, with many already in Brussels after they travelled to the EU capital for the presentation of the EU’s flagship Climate Law, whose perceived lack of ambition will be a central theme fuelling the strike on Friday.

Today I am striking in Brussels with loads of other amazing @Fridays4future strikers from every country in Europe.

We need all the support we can get!

Strike in your local town or city this Friday; Let's all be united in the fight against the climate crisis #ClimateEmergency

— elijah mckenzie-jackson 🌎 (@elijahmckenzee) March 6, 2020

“The climate targets that the [EU’s] Green Deal put forward are not enough to limit global warming to 1,5°C needed to prevent tipping points of climate destruction, and not even enough to stay under 2°C,” the organisers wrote on Facebook.

As the protesters reach their final destination near Parc du Cinquantenaire, Thunberg is expected to address a short speech to the crowd.

Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times