An Ullapool schoolboy has travelled to Glasgow to take part in a climate protest organised by young people in response to COP26.
Finlay Pringle will be marching alongside thousands of other young people from across the world on Friday — the youth and public engagement day at the climate conference.
The event has been organised by Fridays for Future Scotland and will include speeches by Greta Thunberg and Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate.
The youngsters will march from Kelvingrove Park at 11am and are expected to gather at George Square in the afternoon.
The 14-year-old described the scenes before the march as “absolute chaos” with young people banging drums, waving banners and chanting about the world they want to live in.
Fighting for change
Finlay said their main message was to try and get leaders to “actually do something” and to help the countries most affected but unable to make changes themselves.
This is something the 14-year-old has been fighting for over the past three years – taking part in his 150th climate strike last week.
He said: “The main thing happening today is the strike. All of the government conversations have already finished and they’ve already left.
“Being in Glasgow won’t make any difference, this has been described as the worst COP ever, and it’s not really a surprise.
“COP is meant to be a signal of hope, a sign that our world leaders are actually acting upon things, but they’re not.
“They’re doing the opposite, making the entire system worse. Investing in fossil fuels and all the rest of it. It’s all words.
“But being around people my age is always good, a lot of people aren’t interested and protesting can be a very lonely thing. At these strikes you can see that you’re not the only one.
“Today we’ll hear from people who contribute the least to the climate crisis, but are affected by it the most. They can’t do anything about it, so we need to help them.”
A voice for young people
Greta Thunberg, one of the leading voices on the climate crisis, has been encouraging as many people as possible to take part in the strike and “uproot the system”.
On Twitter, she wrote: “Climate justice also means social justice and that we leave no one behind.
“So we invite everyone, especially the workers striking in Glasgow to join us.”
The 18-year-old is expected to speak on behalf of the thousands of young people when they arrive at George Square, sharing what action they would like world leaders to take to fight the climate crisis.
Response to the strike
Speaking on BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland, Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie said the youth climate strikers will receive a “friendly and welcoming” reaction from police.
He said: “It is children who are keen to have their voices heard and make their point so that world leaders hear them and we are keen that they can do that.”
The action being taken by young people has been backed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, but others are not so happy about pupils missing school.
UK Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi has said he would prefer young people to keep their protesting to the weekends.