MP: Learning about science will help tackle climate issue
STUDENTS at a Derby school put Amanda Solloway on the spot about climate change at a Q&A session to mark the Cop26 conference.
The Derby North MP visited The Bemrose School in Uttoxeter Road to admire its £25m refurbishment, as well as talk to youngsters in a science class.
The students, all taking triple science at GCSE, had the opportunity to put environmental questions to her.
They asked a range of questions, including the MP’s opinion on the future of automobile transport with regards to electric vehicles, food chains and sustainability and how much time there was left for people and Governments to act on climate change.
Answering the questions, Mrs Solloway spoke of the seriousness of the environmental damage now being seen, and of the need to balance protecting the planet with the practicalities of living a modern life.
But she said a training in science was the best way for the younger generation to help develop solutions to the vastly complicated climate change situation.
Thanking pupils for choosing to study science, she said: “It’s going to be science that makes the difference and every single one of you can help make that difference.”
She added that the Government was also doing “an awful lot that we should be proud of” when it came to environmental matters. Executive head teacher Neil Wilkinson said pupils had been studying the climate change debates as part of their science work, and the opportunity to question Mrs Solloway would help them understand how Britain’s political system worked.
He added: “As a school we work hard to reduce our carbon footprint. We throw nothing away at Bemrose if we can keep it for re-use.”
The school has undergone an extensive renovation over a four-year perriod, with new wiring and electrics helping to improve energy efficiency.
Movement sensors on the lights mean they turn off automatically and water fountains are available on each corridor for the refilling of water bottles, allowing the school to improve its carbon footprint.