Climate strike: What is a climate emergency?

Dozens of towns and cities across the UK have declared “a climate emergency”.

There’s no single definition of what that means but many local areas say they want to be carbon-neutral by 2030.

Some councils have promised to introduce electric car hubs or build sustainable homes to try to achieve that goal.

It’s a much more ambitious target than the government’s, which is to reduce carbon emissions by 80% (compared to 1990 levels) by 2050.

Last night Bath became the latest local council to declare a climate emergency.

Why declare an emergency?

The United Nations says we could have just 12 years left to limit a climate change catastrophe.

Bristol councillor Carla Denyer first put forward the idea of a local area declaring a climate emergency and in November the city council passed the motion.

“We are acknowledging we are in an emergency situation,” she told Radio 1 Newsbeat.

She says it’s not just about reducing carbon emissions on a local scale, but also raising awareness about climate change and trying to convince MPs so that changes can be made.

“The national government needs to declare an emergency and put resources in place to enable councils to help reduce carbon emissions.

“It’s the first step to radical action.”

Dozens more areas have copied Carla’s motion and declared climate emergencies including in Manchester, London and Edinburgh.

Smaller parish and town councils have also asserted their own declarations to put pressure on government.

The small market town of Machynlleth in west Wales declared a climate emergency in January.

The town is looking at things like improving the energy efficiency of buildings and creating an electric car club to help it become carbon-zero by 2030.

What has all this got to do with the climate strikes?

On Friday, thousands of students from across the UK and around the world will protest about climate change.

It will be the second time students have marched about the environment this year.

One of the key demands, according to the UK Student Climate Network, is that they want the government to declare a climate emergency

They also want the national curriculum reformed to include “the ecological crisis as an educational priority”.

‘Climate change needs to be a much bigger issue in everyday conversation’

Sam Appleton, 21, has put his degree on hold at Oxford University to become a climate change activist.

He’s told Newsbeat he thinks the most effective thing to make governments change their policies is activism.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that this has to work this year if we are to avoid any future crises – we’ve only got 12 years.

“In my eyes, climate change should be treated like there’s a war going on and it should be the only thing people and MPs are talking about, not Brexit.”

He says although small lifestyle changes like swapping car journeys for cycling are important – changes in policy are more important.

What does the government say?

In Wednesday’s Spring Statement, the Chancellor announced gas heating for new houses will be banned by 2025, as part of plans to address the concerns of those protesting about climate change.

While that move was welcomed by environmental campaigners, many said the government hadn’t gone far enough.

“We were the first country to introduce long-term legally binding climate targets under the trailblazing Climate Change Act, which has helped the country cut greenhouse gas emissions by over 40% since 1990 and encouraged other nations to follow our lead.

“We want to continue to lead the world, which is why we’ve asked our independent climate experts for advice on a net zero emissions target.”