‘Politicians must follow pupils’ lead’

The school strikes in Scotland and the rest of the world are an inspiration and should teach our politicians what real leadership looks like. When 15,000 young people stepped out of the classroom and on to the streets last month, they showed they knew what is at stake and why we must take radical action now.

That’s why the council is right to support pupils who plan to skip school and demand our politicians take action to reckon with the climate crisis.

The Conservatives who lobbied against the decision should ask their own party why only ten out of their 314 MPS attended the Westminster climate change debate last week, while the remaining 304 played truant.

We are living in a climate emergency. If we act now, we can prevent huge loss of life, homes and habitats. The challenge is great but the prize for action is greater. The changes we need to make to prevent climate catastrophe can serve to make everyone’s lives better, whether it’s free public transport, energy efficient homes, green jobs in manufacturing and industry or protections for the very soil on which farmers’ livelihoods depend.

When the global school strikes happen next Friday, politicians must listen very carefully, follow the lead of these young people, and treat the climate crisis as the emergency that it truly is. l Mel Evans is senior climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK