Climate change school strikes – leader comment

A proposal to allow Edinburgh’s school children to protest against the lack of action on climate change – but only on one day of the year – seems like a reasonable compromise.

Greta Thunberg has inspired climate change protests by school pupils all over the world (AP Photos/Mstyslav Chernov)

It should be remembered the children are demonstrating because the current adult generations have so far failed to take the action that the vast majority of scientists – and every single major scientific organisation in every democracy in the world – say is necessary to avoid dangerous global warming. So in this situation, the children are seeking to teach their elders an extremely valuable lesson and persuade them to be reasonable.

However, Scotland’s children also need to be reasonable. They must recognise that such protests disrupt their lessons and hinder the vital process of acquiring knowledge – the sort of knowledge required by scientists to provide the warnings the pupils seek to amplify.

We need a new generation of scientists, politicians and voters who are smart enough to recognise the dangers of climate change and also seize the opportunities presented by the switch to a zero-carbon world.