SIR – The strike by schoolchildren across the country on Friday was inspiring.

However, it was also shameful that so many young people felt they had to take this action.

The science of climate change is clear and has been for decades. Yet, most of us have ignored or even denied the facts, happy to continue to damage the environment, because to actually take heed of the science would mean drastically changing our way of life.

 The impact of our choices is evident: insect populations collapsing, mass extinction, wildfires, droughts, heatwaves, floods. This is the world that we are leaving our children. No wonder they are angry.

 To those who say that these children should stay in school, the law states that children must be in school unless there are “exceptional circumstances”.

As Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: “When David Attenborough is warning that the future of civilisation is at risk, that counts as ‘exceptional circumstances’.”

 Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swede who started the protests, said to the rich and powerful at Davos: “I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. And act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.”

Matthew Jenkins, Neil Laurenson, Louis Stephen and Louise Griffiths

Worcester Green party Councillors