Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

2019 is the year of the ‘climate strike’

2019 is the year of the ‘climate strike’

“Climate strike” has been crowned word of the year by Collins Dictionary. The term, which refers to people leaving work or school as a way to demand action on climate change, was used 100 times more often in 2019 compared to last year, Collins’ lexicographers found. The company says that they monitor a 9.5 billion-word body of text each year to identify “new and notable” words that reflect big shifts in culture.

Massive protests across the globe over the past year reflect people’s growing sense of urgency to take action on climate change. Around this time last year, a panel of scientists convened by the United Nations released a report that found that the world had 12 years left (11 now) to dramatically cut down its use of fossil fuels in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. For many, increasingly more destructive wildfire and hurricane seasons have made the risks associated with climate change hit much closer to home.

About 1.6 million students walked out of classrooms in a coordinated day of strikes across more than 120 countries in March. Eighteen-year-old Audrey Lai talked with The Verge during a demonstration that day about the previous year’s devastating fires in California; she was worried about a repeat. “It’s going to become fire season instead of fall,” she said. “Isn’t there something we should be doing?”

One of the heroines behind the popularity of climate strikes is 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who began weekly walkouts in Sweden in 2018. Her high-profile protests outside of Swedish parliament catapulted her into the spotlight, and she was a rumored candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. She didn’t end up with that prestigious award, but she did announce the word of the year win on Twitter.


Global protests flared up again in September, ahead of a United Nations summit in New York. Tech workers across giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft walked out of headquarters to support protests even as CEOs like Jeff Bezos announced new pledges to make business more sustainable.

“I’m joining in the climate strike because every big structural change in history has come [because] of a grassroots insurgence,” 17-year-old Felíquan Charlemagne told The Verge at the time. “The climate strike movement, a grassroots, decentralized movement, has the power to change conversations and force leadership to deliver the bold climate solutions we need to not only stop climate change, but build a better world and economy for us all.”

The following month, hundreds of activists were arrested during what they called a “global climate rebellion.” The group behind it, called Extinction Rebellion, began in the UK and has literally bled into major cities across the world. They sprayed the Westminster Treasury with fake blood and then doused the iconic Wall Street bull with it during acts of civil disobedience this October.

This year’s climate strikes aren’t over yet; there are more protests planned ahead of the annual United Nations climate conference taking place in Madrid this December. Collins lexicographers pinpoint the origin of the term “climate strike” to demonstrations surrounding the same conference in France in 2015, when world leaders adopted the Paris climate accord.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
×