Councillors attending the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee were given a presentation by the Youth Forum on Climate Change and Sustainability.

The presentation included details on how the forum was established, the work done during the COP26 summit in Glasgow last year, and the success of the first Conference in Schools (COS-1) event which focused on climate change and sustainability.

Chair of the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee, Councillor Mark McGeever, said: “It was inspiring to see how our young people are so engaged with the climate change crisis.

“You could see the passion coming through in their presentation, and they were a credit to themselves, their families and their schools.

“The feedback from councillors of all parties was very positive, with many commenting on how engaging and informative the presentation was.”

 Depute chair of the committee, Councillor Kirsten Robb, added: “The young people’s knowledge about the subject and determination to come up with solutions to climate change issues was very impressive.

“We would definitely welcome them back to a future committee and look forward to finding out how their work is progressing.

“There's a narrow window of opportunity for action on climate change and decision makers owe it to our young people and their future to rise to this challenge.”

During COP26, around 80 pupils from schools across South Lanarkshire were part of a virtual newsroom, reporting on the biggest stories coming out of the summit.  The newsroom was a collaboration between the University of Glasgow’s Department of Politics and International Relations and the council.

The COS-1 event was held over three days at Palace Grounds in Hamilton, with more than 500 primary aged children in attendance. The Youth Forum asked the school attendees to commit to a set of pledges and to raise awareness across the rest of the school.