On Tuesday 1st September MP Caroline Lucas was handed a copy of the Youth’s ‘Letter to Power' by activist Wren Savage, 10, in Parliament Square, to take with her as she tabled the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (CEE) - a bold piece of legislation that will work towards limiting global warming to under 1.5 degrees.
The letter contains the urgent demands of over 25 young people's Letters to the Earth - letters received from our collaboration with the Primary Science Teaching Trust, workshops with Global Generation and from our published book of letters. It was spoken by a group aged 6 - 20 from Culture Declares Emergency, XR Youth, XR Families, Parents for the Future, UK Student Climate Network and the Almeida Theatre Young Company.
The letter highlights important aspects of the CEE Bill whilst demanding that the government acts now to protect the youth's futures: reducing the UK’s emissions and restoring and regenerating its soils, biodiverse habits and ecosystems.
“Dear British Government,
I feel that it is necessary that I remind you that you alone hold our fate and our future children’s fate in your very hands” Luca, 15
“I am scared and I’m sure you are too, I don’t want to live in a world where the Earth gets hotter every year. I don’t want to live in a world where the seas rise every year causing natural disasters to appear more frequently. How will we get enough oxygen without the trees? We could be at a tipping point and there will be nothing we can do. What will happen then?”
Anay, 9 The group of young people, including co-founder of UKSCN Daniela Torres Perez, handed copies of their Letter plus the CEE Bill to MPs Caroline Lucas and Alex Sobel who responded to their calls and promised to take their demands to parliament so as to enlist more MPs to add their signatures to the bill. There are now over 70 MPs from across 7 parties supporting the bill.
The Youth Letter to Power is now available for all to use from here. Organise your own public events with your young people. Invite your local MPs and council to hear it and take it further. Make sure your MP is asked to support the CEE Bill.
