Australia fire survivors join global climate protests

People affected by dramatic wildfires in Australia have joined young environmentalists to protest the government’s stance on climate change. The protests in Australia cities Friday kicked off a ‘global day of action’ ahead of next week’s gathering of governments to discuss tackling global warming.

Janet Reynolds, who joined a protest in Sydney, said she had lost everything in an “inferno, an absolute firestorm that raced through my property.” Speaking outside the local offices of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s Liberal Party, student Daisy Jeffrey said “people have lost their homes, people have lost their lives, we have to ask: how far does this have to go before our government finally takes action?” Further rallies were planned in cities worldwide, including Washington, London, Berlin and Madrid, where the climate talks begin Monday.