Recently, across not only London, but the world, multiple climate change protests have been occurring with one major aspect - school children are getting involved.

These protests in the UK, organised by the group “Extinction Rebellion” aim to force the government to tell the truth about the scale of the ecological crisis, demand zero emissions by 2025 and create a citizen’s assembly to try and combat climate change. Several protests during the Easter period have given rise to more popularity for the group and school strikes, which were put on pause for exam season, are set to be more popular as many young people take to the streets.

David Attenborough has expressed approval of these strikes, admitting that he doesn't “have many more years around here”, and emphasised the importance of young people taking a stand. He said: “if we are not making progress with young people, we are done.” Attenborough’s support has no doubt helped the movement grow, admitting that “[his] generation have done terrible things” and expressing an understanding for the outrage felt by many young people at the moment.

More and more, young people seem to be becoming more passionate about this climate crisis, with Extinction Rebellion sharing powerful photos of younger people at protests on their instagram (@extinctionrebellion). In the protests at Easter, people as young as 19 were among the approximately 1,100 arrested and, once the exam season is over, hundreds of students across London in particular are expected to leave their classrooms to fight for their futures.  

Another reason perhaps for the rise in younger protesters is the actions of 16 year old Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teen who has recently been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and could become the youngest person ever to win, due her protests against climate change and the lack of action governments worldwide are taking. She has argued that if action is not taken soon, there will be no future for us all and this perhaps is what has encouraged so many young people to take action.

Extinction Rebellion has been criticised for not having realistic goals, among other reasons, and it remains to be seen whether or not actual progress will be made and the group will achieve their aims, but it is certainly empowering to see young people standing up for what they believe in and trying to make the world a better place for the future.