Tens of thousands rally for 11th global Fridays for Future protest

Tens of thousands of climate protesters took to the streets of more than 270 towns and cities across Germany as well as several other countries on Friday for the latest Fridays for Future demonstration.

Some 20,000 people gathered in Berlin's Invalidenpark, according to police. Thousands of people also took part in rallies in Hamburg and other large cities. Police and organizers said they would announce more precise numbers of participants in the course of the afternoon.

It was the organization's 11th call for a global protest since its founding in 2018.

Among the youth movement's demands are the radical expansion of renewable energies supported by a special fund of €100 billion ($97.8 billion), debt relief for poor countries, as well as universal permanent access to affordable energy.

"Those who think there is no way out are left with despair. Those who know that there is another way can go ahead and act. We have the knowledge, so let's get started," Lisa Neubauer, the leader of the German chapter of Fridays for Future, said at the Berlin rally.

Earlier on Friday in an interview with dpa, Neubauer said protests would take place "from Antarctica to Alaska and Angola."

"Our message from the streets is clear: We know there are sustainable, fast and solidarity-based ways out of the crises, we demand them and we are ready to fight for them," Neubauer said.