The issue of environmental protections is one that cannot be put off any longer. With sea levels rising over 2 inches, global temperature rising 0.63 °C, and the frequency of high level (category 3-5) hurricanes rising since 2000, it has become abundantly clear that climate change is inevitable and the effect of industrialization, globalism and capitalism have made a lasting mark on the ecological history of the Earth (NASA). While the social movements surrounding climate change are not new, in the scope of social movements, it has been relatively well received. The newest in this list of environmental social movements is the Fridays for Future movement started in 2018 by Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg.

The movement originates from Thunberg’s own personal actions, in which she would go on strike from her school every Friday in front of the Swedish Parliament. Thunberg, 15 at the time she started striking, quickly rose to prominence as the face of the movement and a serious political figure. Her goal was to demand action from political leaders to take action to prevent climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy, a large undertaking for one child alone. However, she was not alone for very long. Once she started to gain attention from news outlets, her movement skyrocketed into a global phenomena. This increase in media attention led to an increase in participation in her movement: in less than a year Thunberg went from protesting alone to being the figurehead for a strike boasting 3.7 million participants in over 150 countries (Fridays for Future). Thunberg was invited to many Climate Change Conferences worldwide, including both the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference and 2019 United Nations Climate Action Summit, at which she advocated for the environment and spoke for a younger generation, a historically underrepresented group in the realm of climate change.

While concerns surrounding the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic persist, the Fridays for Future movement has moved to the digital sphere, where it first gained traction. This lull in action has led many to consider whether the Fridays for Future movement was actually able to make any lasting change. Once it picked up traction, it seems Thunberg and the movement set its sight on the United Nations as it’s target. Choosing a trans-national organization is a risky decision for a social movement, as is controlling such a large multi-national movement. With Thunberg at its helm, Fridays for Future has had a seat at the table amongst these giant organizations, but was the movement truly taken seriously on the international stage? Or were the invitations just used to placate a movement centering around young people into submission?

The question of the movement’s actual effectiveness is contested, especially given its relative newness. However, the movement stems from a long history of environmental movements, dating back over 50 years. Drawing on the networks and repertoires of past environmental movements, the Fridays for Future movement has been able to increase the current political awareness of climate change issues. The most remarkable feat of Fridays for Future is its unique draw amongst younger people. People below the voting age of 18 are oftentimes underrepresented in political activism spaces and especially in environmental activism spaces. With a majority of Greenpeace, a comparable global movement, members falling between the ages of 31-45 in 2018, the same year Fridays for Future began, the gap is significant. The Fridays for Futures’ inception was on social media, so naturally, it drew in a younger more technologically savvy group of activists. The immediate accessibility to the movement, which is what caused it to gain almost overnight success, is one of its greatest assets.

Amongst younger populations that have grown up with the impending threat of climate change, it was refreshing to see themselves reflected in the mainstream discussions surrounding climate change and it’s possible solutions. However, to the older generation, the young activists were not seen as credible. This has led to many challenges for the Fridays for Future movement in the framing of both their mission and of the activists themselves. Looking retroactively at the movement during its current downswing, we can gain some insight into whether or not the movement has had any lasting effects. We can also look to the future of the movement and hypothesize about its future capacity to grow and affect change.