A TEENAGE activist staged a one-man climate change protest in Rugby in solidarity with other ‘Youth Strike 4 Climate’ groups on Friday (February 15).
Lawrence Sheriff student Samren Reddy, 15, wanted to lead a school strike in Rugby to coincide with similar protests in 30 towns and cities around the UK.
But after his school denied students permission to take part for safety reasons, he instead collected around 500 signatures on a petition which he handed to Rugby MP Mark Pawsey.
He also left school early and stood outside Rugby Town Hall displaying a placard to motorists bearing the words: “There is no planet B. Climate change is real. Act now.”
Samren, a member of the UK Youth Parliament, said the protests were staged to raise awareness of climate change.
He added: “It is also to do with the government listening to young people because we will have to deal with the long-term effects of climate change – which will be irreversible in just 12 years if we don’t do anything to drastically reduce our emissions.”
He added Mr Pawsey was enthusiastic during their meeting, and agreed that more steps should be taken to address growing emissions in the UK.
And he denied it was an excuse for a day off school.
He said: “We all want to work hard and have a successful future, but what is that all for if the effects of climate change become too great?
“I really hope this has made a statement to both the government and the general public that if everyone does their bit to try and reduce their carbon footprint, we can all live in a world that is more suitable for life.”
Samren decided to take action as the nearest protest to Rugby was nearly 30 miles away in Stratford, where hundreds of pupils skipped school to take part.
Around 400 youngsters were joined by parents – and children as young as four – to march around the town.
The nationwide protests were inspired by Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, who held a solo protest outside her country’s parliament last summer.
Visit www.schoolstrike4climate.com for further details.