The Reader: Climate change protesters are on the right side of history

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24 April 2019
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I would like to challenge your editorial stating that Extinction Rebellion’s arguments are “all over the place” and that awareness of climate change has already been raised [“Mob chaos isn’t protest”, April 18]. If the Government took the issue seriously it would have acted on it more decisively, instead of fudging and prevaricating.

If the movement were a mob, with no cohesive doctrine, so many well- educated, informed and kind people, including scientists, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Emma Thompson, would not have argued that we need to act now to avert disaster, and how this might be achieved.

Some disruption on our streets seems slight, balanced against the threat to life itself. It would be a mistake for the Evening Standard to be on the wrong side of history on this one after its sensible stance against the threat of Brexit.
Vivien Thomason

MAY I congratulate all those protesters who, by their actions, merely added further pollution to the problem by causing chaos and gridlocked traffic.
Deirdre Lewis

Our Conservative government should be taking climate change more seriously. At least as seriously as it has taken Brexit over the past three years.

The Prime Minister could secure a better legacy out of climate change than she will ever get out of Brexit.
Max Nottingham

EDITOR'S REPLY

Dear Vivien, Deirdre and Max,

You’VE got to hand it to the protesters: they have certainly got people talking. And as I walked up the empty middle of Haymarket the other day I did like seeing parts of London without cars — even if the demonstrators achieve nothing else we should make this a monthly Sunday routine, as other cities do.

But I want to challenge two points. First, protests which don’t acknowledge what’s been achieved limit rather than encourage hope for more radical change. And the UK under successive governments has made progress.

Second, I don’t think action on climate change needs to involve the destruction of the market economy. Indeed, markets should be part of the answer. See Dieter Helm’s new book, Green and Prosperous Land: A Blueprint for Rescuing the British Countryside, or the work of the economist Sir Nicholas Stern.

Finally, it’s time for the protest to end. A permanent squatter camp will turn people against the cause and I’m not sure Londoners can cope with much more rhythmic chanting. Life’s depressing enough at the moment as it is.

Julian Glover, Associate Editor, Comment

Young need space for mental health

Research by National Education Union has shown a worrying increase in young people with mental health disorders — 83 per cent of school workers said they had witnessed a rise in the number of children in their care with poor mental health.

As someone who has been affected, I know only too well the mental health struggles my generation are going through, and shocking though they might be, these figures reflect how difficult life is for young people today.

Young people should be taught more about how to recognise symptoms and feel free to talk about how they’re feeling.

I found a lot of help and support when taking part in National Citizen Service (NCS) last year, where I got to make some incredible friends.

If we want to tackle this ongoing crisis we need to make sure young people are provided with safe spaces like NCS so they can open up about how they feel and realise it’s okay to ask for help.
Amy De Castillo
NCS Graduate

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