Opinion: Our Children’s Challenge Over Climate Change Brings Hope For Our Future

Published on: 22 Sep, 2019
Updated on: 26 Sep, 2019

Youth Strike’s protest in Guildford. Photo – Mandy Millyard

By Zoe Franklin

Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Guildford

“Our leadership has failed us. Young people must hold older generations accountable for the mess they have created. We need to get angry, and transform that anger into action.” Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist.

It isn’t easy being told you’ve got it wrong, not least by your children. But on the environment, we really have been wrong. I remember as a teen in the 1990s hearing about CFCs destroying the ozone layer and the move to improve the way we behaved. The trouble is that my generation and those ahead of me missed that clear warning sign of a bigger problem.

In the 20 years since, we have buried our heads in the sand and ignored the growing concern of scientists about the state of our world. This has started to change in the past few years and there as been widespread recognition that climate change is a real and present danger to our planet and the survival of our children.

As adults, we have not responded swiftly or effectively enough.

When I read Greta Thunberg’s words above, I must acknowledge that we have failed our young people. They are right to be taking to the streets, they are right to be calling us out and they are right to make challenging demands for urgent action on the climate crisis.

As a politician, I am deeply grateful for the challenge and the swelling hope inspired by the children and young people protesting on the streets of Guildford and indeed, across the globe. Their clear demands and passionate determination that action must happen now is forcing governments to listen and act, while also giving me hope that what is put in place will continue to be driven forward when they are in positions of leadership in the years to come.

I have joined the climate strikes over the past few months because I am in total agreement with what these young people are calling for:

1. The Government to declare a climate emergency and prioritise the protection of life on Earth, taking active steps to achieve climate justice;

2. The national curriculum to be reformed to address the ecological crisis as an educational priority;

3. The Government to communicate to the people the enormity of the ecological crisis and the need to act now; and

4. The Government to recognise that young people have the biggest stake in our future, by incorporating youth views into policy-making and bringing the voting age down to 16.

I am pleased to say that my party, the Liberal Democrats, are committed to delivering all of these things. You can see this through our policies, through the action of our MPs and candidates, and through the work of our Liberal Democrat councillors and councils including here in Guildford.

I applaud Petra, Hattie and all those involved in organising the Guildford Strike for Climate as well as everyone who attended. Don’t give up. You are making your voices heard and bringing change for the better.

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