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We, the teachers, have a unique responsibility in the face of the climate crisis.

16-year old Greta Thunberg is striking from school. She says there’s no point in studying if the planet is dying. She could be one of our students, and she’s opened our eyes: this is how we respond.

If you're a teacher, sign the pledge to show your support and solidarity with the school strikers across Europe and the world! And if you can, take to the streets with us to demand urgent action on climate breakdown.

We know that this young girl is telling the truth - We know how urgently we need to act on this unprecedented ecological and humanitarian crisis, we know that our students have not chosen their future, but it has been determined for them by the criminal inaction of past and present governments.

We know the facts and yet we remain silent.

News from all over the world show that the climate crisis is already happening. Heatwaves, droughts, floods, migrations, political unrest and the collapse of biodiversity are all signs that the planet is not well. But we still have hope.

And national school curricula don’t match the urgency of the situation at hand: the politicians responsible continue to act as if nothing was wrong.

In view of this, we refuse to be instruments of reassuring propaganda that hides the true scale of this climate emergency. As teachers it is our responsibility to tell our students the truth and to not shy away from how serious this situation really is. Because they trust us, we need to make them aware of what is happening.

We also need to step up to the challenge put to us by the school strikers, and participate in the movement that is calling for significant change in these critical times.

Nothing will happen without citizen pressure and mobilisation on an unprecedented scale.

Now is our moment to act.

We are calling on all of our colleagues – all staff in primary and secondary schools, in higher-education institutions, from academics to administrative staff, from kindergarten teachers to union representatives — to participate in the international student-led climate strikes and to keep going until our elected leaders implement the profound changes that are needed.

We know that not everyone is able to join us in the streets, and that’s okay. There are many other ways that you can show your support for school strikers around the world and signing this call is one of them.

On May 24th we want schools to be empty and for us teachers to stand alongside our students in the streets, showing them that their trust in us is not misplaced.

We, as teachers, are signing this call to express our determination to act for the future of our students.