STUDENTS protesting as part of an international youth campaign demanding action on climate change brought part of central London to a standstill yesterday.
Organisers behind the Youth Strike 4 Climate movement had said “sizeable events” would take place in major towns and cities around the country as students took to the streets for the third mass protest in as many months.
Hundreds of students marched past Downing Street where they chanted “Theresa May, hear us say, climate change is here to stay”.
The march began at Parliament Square where organisers led chants, including “We want, we want, justice” in the style of Queen song We Will Rock You. As cars were brought to a halt to wait for the march to pass the students chanted “engines off”.
A sit-down saw Oxford Street and surrounding roads brought to a standstill, and while police moved most of the protesters away, a group stayed on.
One protester was taken into a police van after refusing to move from the road, but the Metropolitan Police said there had been no arrests. Those taking part in strikes are demanding that the government declares a state of climate emergency, and reforms the curriculum “to address climate change as an educational priority”.
They are also campaigning for the voices of young people to be considered when it comes to policy-making and for the voting age to be lowered to 16.
The strikes come in the wake of a UN report which warned that limiting global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, beyond which climate impacts become increasingly severe, requires unprecedented action. That includes cutting global carbon dioxide emissions by almost half within 12 years.
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