Lancaster school pupils call on council to declare '˜climate emergency'

Lancaster school pupils are asking the city council to 'declare a climate emergency' and come up with a plan to make the district carbon
Rosie Mills with the petitionRosie Mills with the petition
Rosie Mills with the petition

neutral by 2030.

Lancaster Girls Grammar School sixth former Rosie Mills wants young people to be central to climate change action, and is urging people to sign her petition.

She said: “We, the young people of Lancaster, are the generation which will feel the harmful effects of global warming most severely, yet there is insufficient local action to reduce the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming and climate change.

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“As a generation, we have never lived in a time of stable climate conditions.

“We are seeing its devastating effects in many ways already: sea levels are rising, habitats are being destroyed and our future is uncertain. If current emissions trends continue, it is very likely that the earth’s temperature will rise by a minimum of 2°C, the consequences of which will be disastrous. As a society, we need to involve the opinions of young people in the decision-making processes to tackle this climate emergency, to help protect the planet for our future.”

The petition asks for the city council to declare a “climate emergency” and carry out a consultation with young people of all ages.

The forecast for the Lancaster and Morecambe area.The forecast for the Lancaster and Morecambe area.
The forecast for the Lancaster and Morecambe area.

She is also asking for the ideas to be included in council plans to make Lancaster District carbon neutral by 2030 and create a young person’s climate panel to review strategies.

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Rosie has launched an epetition on the council’s website and along with friends Oliver Patterson and Iona Nixon wants to present it for a debate at the next full council meeting.

She needs 1,500 signatures by Friday December 7.

Year 11 student Oliver Patterson, said: “We are calling on all young people to get their names on the petition.

“This is not a thing the older people in the community can take decisions on without consulting young people, as it is our future.”

Coun Darren Clifford, cabinet member with responsibility for climate change, said: “There’s no doubt that climate change is one of the biggest threats facing us today and the council is taking action to tackle the problem.

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“In July this year, as part of a motion on climate change put to Full Council, we committed to match the ambitions of the UK100 Agreement by pledging to achieve 100 per cent clean energy across the city council’s full range of functions by 2050.

“It’s extremely important that the next generation have their say in this important debate - after all, they are the ones that will have to live in the world that is shaped by the decisions we make today.”

To sign the petition, click HERE

Last month, climate activists from Lancaster and Morecambe took to the streets to highlight what a rise in global temperatures would mean for the district in the years ahead.

Morecambe Bay Extinction Rebels, part of the national ‘Extinction Rebellion’ movement, brought a boat from the Preston New Road anti-fracking protest site to Market Square and around 50 activists talked to people about future flooding in the district.