1,000 climate crisis protesters take to streets
YOUNG PEOPLE LEAD CHARGE IN WORLDWIDE STRIKE
AROUND 1,000 young people marched through the streets of Newcastle city centre as part of a global climate strike.
Armed with placards and megaphones, the group gathered at Newcastle Civic Centre before marching down through Northumberland Street towards Grey’s Monument.
The protest was part of a worldwide climate change protest that demands leaders tackle climate change in the lead-up to a UN summit.
Students could be heard chanting “Wake up! Wake up!” to the Government, and at 1pm alarm clocks started to ring in a bid to get the attention of leaders.
Speaking in Newcastle City Centre were politicians, union members and climate change campaigners.
Newcastle Cental Labour MP Chi Onwurah told the crowd climate change was a “huge existential threat to our future” hovering over everything.
She added: “One of the things I am proud of as an MP for Newcastle is this is a city that welcomed Martin Luther King.
“He talked about the three great challenges of that era. It was war, poverty and prejudice, now my friends we still have war, we still have poverty, even more poverty after 10 years of austerity, and we still have prejudice in so many areas of life.
“And we have this huge existential threat to our future, climate change, hovering over everything.
“We are not focusing on it because of debates like Brexit which is taking so much of the energy.
“We know working with the European Union, that the European Union can be a huge force for positive change.”
North of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll was among the speakers and Ronagh Craddock, of Unison, who said: “We (the North East) led the industrial revolution. We will lead the green revolution.”
Joining the protest was Simon Hall, organiser of Trade Unions NE Solidarity with Climate Strikes, said: “Millions of people recognise climate change and understand that it is a real threat and that the evidence is there. People want to do something about it.
“We want the government to start telling the truth and to recognise how serious the issue is.”
Peter Robson, who is a member of the Socialist party, said: “I’m concerned about what’s happened to the planet. The Tyne Valley suffered horrendously – the town was actually cut off (by flooding) – so that brought it home at a local level.
“If you look at what’s happening at a global level, for instance in Brazil, the Amazon is the lungs of the world and that’s on fire at the moment and this is through climate change.
“Protests like this are very important. I think these young people here, I won’t say kids because that is patronising, dragged the politicians to the table to talk about these issues. The Government are listening now – they’ve called a meeting on the United Nations over the weekend in New York for Monday and I’m not sure if that would have happened if it wasn’t for protests like this.”
Ann Sheppard, 54, said: “I’m here today because I think it’s time for action on the climate emergency.
“Hopefully it will bring more attention to it.
“There’s a real diversity of people here at the strike today, there are not just schoolchildren, there are a lot of adults here as well to support the children who are out on strike.
“It’s really important for adults to get involved as well because adults have a vote.”
Gareth Billinghurst, 47, Director of Thought Foundation, said: “We’re here because we’ve been dealing with environmental issues for years and years and nothing really happened.
“We look at law all the time and the government has done absolutely nothing for so long, ignored everything and are just messing about at the fringes and we actually need to take action. “For 20 odd years of doing this nothing has actually physically come out and made a difference, so it’s time to take action. The more people we get out here and the more people that take part, eventually everyone will start taking notice.
“It’s great the kids are doing something and now it’s time for the adults to get involved.” Thousands of activists joined protests across Britain and around the globe yesterday.
We want the government to start telling the truth and to recognise how serious the issue is. Simon Hall