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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Neil Pooran & Fionnuala Boyle

Hundreds of young people march through Edinburgh streets in mass climate protest

Hundreds of young climate activists took to the streets of Edinburgh today as part of a school strike demonstration which was the first of its kind to take place since the summer.

The Fridays for Future movement inspired by Greta Thunberg held a climate march through the city, with some holding signs saying "the kids are not alright".

After a rally outside the City Chambers on the Royal Mile, the protesters marched down the Mound and onto Waverley Bridge.

Traffic was stopped by the police as the march continued onto Princes Street before heading down Regent Road.
The march finished at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, where speeches were heard.

Demonstrators said politicians had failed to take action on the climate crisis since the Cop26 summit nearly a year ago.

A youngster holds a sign saying 'there is no second planet' at the Fridays for Future Scotland march (Callum Moffat / Daily Record)
Individuals from across Scotland made their voices heard (Callum Moffat / Daily Record)

They also hit out at the UK Government's plans for more fossil fuel exploration in the North Sea and the end of the fracking ban in England.

Niamh Gill, 16, from Livingston, West Lothian, said: "We're not alright with what the government is doing in not taking enough climate action.

"We need speed, we need a just and fair transition into renewables from fossil fuels, we need lots of other things. We're annoyed that the Government seems to think that it's our responsibility and it's not theirs."

Bessie Russell, 16, from Glasgow, said: "We've been doing this for years and we haven't seen change. The kids are here to demand justice."

Hundreds of young people raged against the current climate crisis on the streets of the capital (Callum Moffat / Daily Record)
The message that went out was 'the kids are not alright' (Callum Moffat / Daily Record)

She added: "After Cop it's been quite difficult because so many promises were made and none of them were kept. So we're just trying to keep the movement going, keep the pace."

Cory MacCormack, 19, of the campaign group Turn Up For Trans Health, also said there had been a lack of action since the summit.

He said: "It doesn't feel like anything gets done. It just seems like a bunch of politicians get to hand out and pretend that they're fine. But I haven't seen substantial changes and the Tory Government has literally done nothing."

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Police are aware of a protest and march in the High Street area of Edinburgh on Friday September 23. No arrests were made and all involved have now left the location."

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