A LANGHOLM pupil has challenged Holyrood hopefuls to take greater and more effective action in response to the climate emergency.
Langholm Academy’s Cerys Gough joined fellow young activists from Peebles High School on a video call with local politicians from five different political parties and an audience of 70.
The Future Speaks event saw the trio put questions submitted by young people across South Scotland to the panel, which included current regional Labour MSP Claudia Beamish, special advisor to Nicola Sturgeon Màiri McAllan, and Laura Moodie, the Scottish Green’s lead candidate for the South of Scotland region in May.
They faced a grilling on how they would combat global heating, waste management, sustainable transport and reforestation. Furthermore, the pupils raised the lack of climate education in schools as a significant concern.
Cerys said after the event: “We are standing on the edge of the cliff, and the choices we make in the next few years will affect all our futures.”
A Future Speaks spokesman said: “Climate change will obviously affect young people more than anybody else, and in Scotland, the great thing is that anybody over 16 is eligible to vote. With this event, we’ve given young people a platform to meet with local MSP candidates and quiz them about their climate promises.”
