Schoolgirl activist age 16 captivates the Commons
...and now Environment Secretary Gove announces he’s on board
MICHAEL Gove has agreed to work with Extinction Rebellion eco-warriors after meeting the campaigning Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg yesterday.
The Environment Secretary was among a panel of MPs who were told by the 16-year- old environmental activist she felt her future ‘had been stolen’.
In a packed Palace of Westminster, she condemned the UK for supporting new exploitation of fossil fuels and exaggerating carbon emission cuts.
And Mr Gove admitted those in power had not done enough to combat climate change, adding: ‘Suddenly in the past few years it has become inescapable that we have to act.
‘The time to act is now, the challenge could not be clearer – Greta you have been heard.’
Shortly after the meeting, activists from the ‘XR’ group, who began blocking roads across the capital last Monday, announced that they would be meeting with the Environment Secretary to discuss their demands.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed Mr Gove wanted to work with the group, which is why he had met with Miss Thunberg. ‘Next steps’ would be made public in due course, they added.
A spokesman from Extinction Rebellion said: ‘This is huge news and what we have been fighting for. He has essentially said he realises the establishment has been wrong, and they’re grateful to us for highlighting this.’
Miss Thunberg told the likes of former Labour leader Ed Miliband and Green MP Caroline Lucas that the UK was supporting shale gas fracking, greater exploitation of North Sea oil and gas fields and expanding airports.
She blasted: ‘This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind. You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before.’
Before her speech, Miss Thunberg had held a roundtable with party leaders, where Prime Minister Theresa May was represented by an empty chair after she declined to attend. But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn met the young activist and tweeted an image of himself with her in front of a portrait of Tony Benn.
Miss Thunberg addressed the UN last month after forming a movement in 2018 that has since spread across the globe.
Mr Gove’s move came as Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, yesterday urged Extinction Rebellion to ‘keep up the good work,’ suggesting they had been treated unfairly by police. Since protests began, more than 1,000 arrests have been made and 71 people charged, mainly with obstruction.
The middle- class eco-warriors want the Government and media to ‘tell the truth’ about climate change, for the UK to have zero carbon emissions by 2025 – and for a people’s assembly to be established to tackle the issue.