The School Strike 4 Climate Action will take place at Alfred Deakin Place on Friday at midday, with almost 40,000 students and other community members expected to turn out for similar strikes across the country. 

Alex Drew, a Ballarat-based Year 12 student said it's unsurprising the issue of climate change has resonated with young people, as it's an "issue that will impact all our futures".

"We want to make some noise now to show that we really believe something needs to happen, and again send a message about the climate to politicians," he said. 

The 17-year-old pointed to a landmark decision in NSW's Land and Environment Court that found the emissions of greenhouse gases and resulting climate change from a proposed coal mine were among the reasons to reject the project.

"A lot of people have said, 'this isn't going to do anything', but we've already had a great turn around in the energy policy," Alex said.