Thousands in Leeds join global climate strike protest in Millennium Square

Protesters marched through the city centre to make their voices heard in what they call a deepening climate crisis.

Large crowds gathered outside Civic Hall in Millennium Square at 11am for rallying speeches, before placard waving protesters brought traffic to a halt during lunchtime.

The global strike follows the success of the student led protests in Leeds earlier this year, which inspired thousands of adults to join in and urge an end to the age of fossil fuels.

Alaric Neville, 58, Chapel Allerton attended the protest with his dog Bebe. He also allowed his son to take the day off school to attend the protest.

He said: "Our entire family are aware of the climate change situation and I encourage my son to take ownership of his own future.

"I think when you have children, and you hope and expect to have grandchildren, and you look at them in your mind's eye, that's when it gets personal and very scary.

"You can imagine the catastrophic chaos that even a modest scenario of what might happen might do - maybe not in my lifetime, but in my son's lifetime and in my grandchildren's lifetime.

"Demos are great but they're only a part of it. You don't make a change just by listening to drumming but you don't make a change sitting in the armchair either."

Meryl Varty went to show her support at the protest with her colleagues from the Royal Society of the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Meryl, the visitor experience officer at the RSPB Aire Valley Reserves, said: "We want to show solidarity with the thousands of youths across the world who are striking for action for climate change.

"Sadly in the UK, we are one of the countries in the world that has the worst rate of wildlife decline. 10% of our wildlife is at risk of extinction and the biggest threat to our wildlife is climate change.

"There needs to be millions and millions of people throughout the world campaigning not just the thousands it is at the moment. Nature conservation and climate change is not an issue for young people or the RSPB, it is an issue for everyone.

"Everyone wants to live in a world that's healthy and there will come a time when our children and our grandchildren will pay the price for our actions today. It's important we look out for their future."

Owen Walsh, 25, PhD student at University of Leeds, attended the protest on behalf of the Marxist student federation.

He said: "Climate change is an immediate and pressing crisis but one that is caused by capitalism and can only be solved by overthrowing capitalism and replacing with it a planned economy.

"Young people are the future and they are the future of revolutionary politics."

Kristina Diprose, Persephone Sensale and Nicola Bell attended the protest because they said it was time for adults to get involved.

Persephone, 31, from Chapel Allerton, said: "It's not just a kids issue, they've raised the awareness and now the adults have to get on board. It is an issue for everyone."

Kristina, 34, from Saltaire also felt she had a duty to support the youth strikers:

She said: "I am a social researcher so I research public perceptions of climate change at the University of Sheffield. Researching what the problem is and then seeing young people actually getting out and doing something about it and taking action - I felt I had a duty to support that.

"I think today's global strike for climate is going to the biggest global mobilisation that's ever happened on climate change.

"From the politicians not enough has changed fast enough.

"Everyone agrees that stopping climate change is important but I don't think they fully understand or want to understand quite how urgent it is and quite how much needs to change."

Nicola, 34, from Burley, said: "We were quite overwhelmed when we got here at how many people were here and we were saying how happy we felt that there were so many people supporting it.

"It would be good if people in charge took notice because we are the little people that can't make those changes.

"If it was declared an emergency and the government had to act quicker, change things and stop burning fossil fuels soon - that would be great."