Gateshead students in climate stunt by Angel of the North

Students under Angel of the North

Source: CAFOD

Gateshead pupils are calling on Boris Johnson to tackle the climate crisis and ensure those worst affected are put at the heart of this year's climate talks.

In a stunt outside Angel of the North in Durham, Gateshead pupils from Cardinal Hume Catholic School and St Bede's Catholic School & Sixth Form College, held a banner reminding the government that 'The Eyes of the World are watching' ahead of the UK hosting world leaders the UN climate conference 'COP26' in Glasgow in November.

"We want world leaders to adopt the mindset that we need immediate action. The UK has this policy whereby 2030 they intend to cut Carbon emissions by 72%, but there's people in anguish right now. We need to do something about the problem right now.

"In the west we're responsible for deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels, and we should also be responsible for fixing all of that," said a year 11 student from Cardinal Hume Catholic School, explaining why she got involved with the campaign run by Catholic aid charity, CAFOD.

Sharing the message she would like to send to world leaders next month, another year 11 student from Cardinal Hume Catholic School added:

"The world leaders need to remember that when they're making their decisions, they're not making it for big businesses or rich people- they're making it for people on the ground; the same people who will be affected by their decisions, first.

"They need to act with a decent amount of compassion when they're trying to make these policies that affect everyone, because I believe the reason why the climate crisis is as bad as it is, is because of the big systems that have been put in place - which makes it hard to live sustainably and ethically."

The 'Eyes of the World' banner first made an appearance on the opening day of the G7 summit in Cornwall in June.

Accompanied by a massive art installation, created by pupils from St Mary's primary school in Falmouth, over 14,000 young people have now joined CAFOD's campaign, urging world leaders to take action on issues like the climate crisis.

Over the next three weeks, the banner will travel to the remaining landmark Edinburgh - reaching its final destination in Glasgow at 'COP26' in November.

CAFOD, who has coordinated the journey of the banner, hopes that over the coming weeks, hundreds more young people will get involved in the 'Eyes of the World' campaign.

Kirstie Hutchinson, CAFOD's young leadership coordinator, concluded: "We would like to say a huge thank you to the pupils of Cardinal Hume Catholic School and St. Bede's Catholic School & Sixth Form College and to every young person who has already taken part in the 'Eyes of the World' campaign - your actions will make a huge difference to those living with poverty and injustice.

"We know that young people really care about reaching out to people around the world. They are the ones demanding change and we need to give them a stage to raise their voices.

"In the run-up to COP26, I hope that the UK government does listen to the voices of young people and the Catholic community and takes seriously their duty to look out for global communities already impacted by the climate emergency."

The Eyes of the World banner journey covers 15 landmarks across the UK, including Houses of Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and Blackpool Tower- reaching its final destination in Glasgow at the UN climate conference, COP26. So far, over 14,000 pupils have joined CAFOD's 'Eyes of the World' campaign.