It’s a ‘bones day’ for thousands skipping school to protest at COP26

Noodles the pug, the beloved, elderly TikTok dog that decides how our collective day will turn out based on whether or not he can stand up in the morning, decided Friday is a bones day. Meaning, according to his owner, it’s time to “get shit done” and treat yourself to whatever you want most.

Simultaneously, thousands of youth protesters took to the streets of Glasgow, as the UN’s COP26 global climate summit continued. The activists waved scathing, clever rebukes of their political representatives’ inability to get said shit done alongside the beloved pup’s TikTok meme — an inescapable reminder to all of the protesters’ single goal on the bones day to-do list: Save the Earth.

The protest was led by youth climate organization Fridays for Future, which has been encouraging students from all over the world to skip school for climate justice since 2018. While students left school around the globe on Friday, an estimated 25,000 people took over the streets of Glasgow in the effort to pressure leaders at the 26th annual climate meetings to take their commitments to the Earth more seriously. It was, in short, anything but a “no bones” day, when Noodles cannot stand and his owner encourages self care in the form of staying home and temporarily avoiding responsibilities.

The world’s digitally-connected young activists have only gotten more creative as their protests continue, incorporating topical humor alongside simple statements of discontent. “We should not have to be here,” signs say, and, “If YOU were smarter, we’d still be in school.” It’s a unique show of youth activism and the power of pop culture references, as well as a demonstration of the fact that the people inheriting our climate crisis are for the most part not inside the COP26 buildings.

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A large group of indigenous youth led part of Friday’s march, holding signs that read, “There is no climate justice without Indigenous peoples” and “Climate justice without racial justice is the new colonialism.” Some carried messages for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who recently criticized indigenous youth activist txai suruí for speaking out about Brasil’s treatment of Indigenous people and their lands at a COP26 event earlier this week. Indigenous activists from around the world have called out the United Nations for doing the bare minimum to include small, indigenous communities at the conference, while those in attendance are demanding an end to extractive industries on their community land around the world.

The huge crowd convened at George Square in the center of Glasgow for a series of speeches by activists and other climate coalitions. Other attendees included Fridays for Future founder Greta Thunberg and Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, who both addressed the crowd and asked leaders to take the group seriously. “We’ve seen activists from the most affected areas being erased from pictures, from conversations, and removed from rooms,” Nakate said. “But how will we have climate justice if people from the most affected areas are not being listened to?”

The conference continues for another week, during which representatives of the world’s nations will make further commitments to stop environmental degradation and climate change, including a pledge to end the use of coal and halt further deforestation. Young activists, for their part, remain critical of the politicians’ promises, awaiting actual progress.

They’re fighting for their future now with years of protest under their belts and a particular sense of urgency. With or without the fortuitous declaration from Noodles the pug this morning, it’s clear Friday’s crowd would have been just as present and boisterous, undeterred by intransigent world leaders and no bones days alike.

A protester dressed up as a dinosaur begs world leaders to stop “choosing extinction” for the planet.
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A Fridays For Future leader rallies up the crowd as they head to George Square.
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Numerous signs are held aloft by youth activists, including references to Finding Nemo and Nelly’s “Hot In Here”.
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A person dressed as a sad-looking polar bear stands behind the crowd.
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Hungry seagulls eye fellow protesters as the “chips” fall on climate policy.
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A protester calls out the future climate fears held by many young activists, while the “This is fine.” dog watches from behind.
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Two protesters hold signs as they march to George Square.
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