Tremendously proud of Eastbourne youngsters who marched for action on climate change

The School Strike for Climate that took place on Friday March 15 was a global success, with millions of schoolchildren around the world protesting and marching peacefully, demanding radical action to protect their futures from the threat of catastrophic climate change.

Many schoolchildren from Eastbourne took part in this historic action by staging a demonstration outside the town hall before marching into the town centre to stage another demonstration there.

They were disciplined, lucid, well-informed about climate science, and passionate in their desire to secure a safe climate future for us all.

I and all the other adults who attended the demonstration to support our local kids were tremendously proud of how the students behaved and with the speeches they gave, which told truth to power and sent a simple, coherent message to us adults which we need to listen very carefully to.

They clearly will not stop with their protests, as they have discovered their voice and their collective influence.

The seas are rising, but so are they.

We in Eastbourne Friends of the Earth salute their courage, leadership, vision, and determination to create a better world for themselves and all future generations.

We will give them all the support we can and we hope that all sections of the local community can unite around the great example of peaceful civic action set by our local schoolchildren, who are now an integral part of a fast-growing global student-led movement for dealing with the Climate Emergency.

Much of Eastbourne, it should be emphasised, is a low-lying coastal community and therefore in the front line of that Climate Emergency as it confronts the rising sea levels and stronger storm surges of a rapidly warming global climate. More, much more, than our children’s future is at risk and we can all have a role to play in reducing that risk.