Climate protesters around the world are calling for an end to fossil fuels as Earth heats up

From Europe to Africa to southeast Asia, tens of thousands of climate activists launched protests Friday to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as the globe suffers dramatic weather extremes and record-breaking heat, with plans to continue through the weekend.

The protests – driven by several mostly youth-led, local and global climate groups and organizations, including Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future movement – were taking place in dozens of countries and hundreds of cities worldwide.

Several thousand people marched in Vienna, holding up signs demanding higher taxes for carbon emissions and an end to meat consumption.