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Scarlett Westbrook
Born (2004-07-08) July 8, 2004 (age 20)
Birmingham, U.K.
Occupations
Movement

Scarlett Westbrook (born July 8, 2004) is a British climate justice activist and journalist. She is a spokesperson and coordinator with the UK Student Climate Network and head of political engagement at Teach the Future, as well as a prominent figure in the Fridays for Future movement.[1][2] She is particularly noted for her work in climate and education policy, which has seen her become the youngest regular policy writer in Parliamentary history.[1]

Early life

Westbrook was born on July 8, 2004 and grew up in Birmingham. She is the youngest person in the world to have an A Level in Government and Politics, which she self-taught in 2018, aged 13.[3][4]

Activism

Westbrook first rose to prominence through her journalism discussing Brexit and youth political engagement. On December 21st 2018, Westbrook wrote her debut article for The Independent, tackling the underrepresentation of youth people in UK politics.[3]

Shortly after, Westbrook became involved in climate justice activism. She co-organised Birmingham's first school strike for climate action[5], before joining the UK Student Climate Network as a coordinator for community engagement, political outreach and organising around the Green New Deal.[6] She helped to organise Birmingham climate strikes for global strike dates on March 15, 2019 and May 24, 2019[7] and wrote about the protests for the Independent ahead of the May global climate strike.[8] She continued to organise climate strike marches, in Birmingham, London and across the UK.[9]

In 2019, Westbrook became involved with the daughter organisation of the UK Student Climate Network, Teach the Future, and was appointed as Head of Political Engagement.[10] Through Teach the Future, Westbrook authored the first ever student-written bill, the English Climate Emergency Education Act.[11] On February 26th 2020, Westbrook organised and spoke at the Parliamentary Reception for the English Climate Emergency Education Act,[12] receiving praise from MPs across the House. Her work as part of Teach the Future has seen her become the youngest known regular policy writer in Parliamentary history.[13]

In November 2021, the English Climate Education Emergency Bill was presented to Parliament by the MP Nadia Whittome.[14][15][16][17][18] Westbrook was interviewed about this first reading of the bill by i-D Magazine, stating “By starting with climate education, and by starting with decarbonising schools, we’re creating a legacy of climate justice. That means we can continue action, and it’s sustainable, and continuous, and, hopefully, better for education.”[19] The bill is set to have its second reading on May 6th 2022.[20]

Westbrook has regularly headlined high-profile events and appeared on national television. On August 14th 2019, Westbrook was interviewed on BBC Breakfast alongside Greta Thunberg, discussing the 2019 Global Climate Strike and the Green New Deal.

On November 15th 2019, Westbrook was interviewed by ITV discussing the petition for the leaders of the major political parties to hold a televised debate focused on the climate crisis ahead of the 2019 General Election, which she helped to launch as a spokesperson for the UK Student Climate Network.[21] She said, “We can’t really be guided by what’s deemed to be politically possible, when we need what’s scientifically necessary. Politics by definition is the process by which conflict is resolved and this is arguably the biggest crisis we’ve ever faced.”[22] In response, Channel 4 held the ‘Emergency on Planet Earth' debate of party leaders on November 28th 2019[23]. This was the first ever party leaders’ debate focused exclusively on climate change in the UK.[24]

Westbrook headlined the International Women’s Day march led by Care International in London on March 8th 2020, in which she outlined the links between climate justice and justice for women, especially those living in the Global South.[25] She was the youngest ever headline speaker at a Care International International Women’s Day mobilisation.[26] Her speech was met with praise, and described as 'rousing' by DeSmog.[27]

Westbrook appeared again on BBC Breakfast on February 25th 2020 to introduce the Teach the Future campaign[28]. On June 1st 2021, Westbrook was interviewed for Sky News on the this campaign and climate anxiety, presenting her research that found that only four percent of students felt they knew enough about the climate crisis, and said “We need the knowledge to be able to deal with this post-climate breakdown world that we're going to be entering, as we exit university and schooling and into the workforce.”[29]

In July 2020, Westbrook spoke at the Children’s Media Conference[30] and was named as one of Greenpeace's 30 Under 30 climate activists[31] and on September 23rd 2020 she won the Institute for Public Policy Research ‘Big Ideas’ policy event.[32] She went on to be the youngest person ever longlisted for the Merky Books writing prize in December 2020, and in February 2021 she became the youngest ever recipient of the Women of the Future Young Star award.[33] In November 2020 she was named as one of Forbes Top 100 UK Environmentalists.[34]

Westbrook was profiled in the Observer New Review for the cover story on October 17th 2021, titled ‘Gen Z On How To Save The World: Young Climate Activists Speak Out’.[35] She was also profiled by the Evening Standard on October 29th 2021 for the cover story 'Gen Zero: Meet the next generation of climate campaigners’, which interviewed influential young climate activists from across the globe.[36] On November 1st 2021, Westbrook was named as a National Geographic changemaker and profiled in the story ‘26 Changemakers Fighting for the Planet’.[37]

As a journalist, Westbrook has written for the Independent,[38] gal-dem,[39] the Metro[40] and i-D.[41] Westbrook is also spokesperson for Labour for a Green New Deal.[42]

In November 2021 Westbrook attended COP26 in Glasgow. On November 5th 2021, Westbrook’s column ‘Young people like me have made history this COP26 ‘youth day’ – now it’s your turn’ in the Independent[43] was featured in The Week’s list of best opinion columns.[44]

In 2021, Westbrook received the prestigious Diana Award for her journalism and environmental activism.[45] She was also named as ‘one of the UK's most high profile youth activists’ by Sky.[46]

References

  1. ^ a b Olivia Laing (17 October 2021). "Gen Z on how to save the world: young climate activists speak out". Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ Simon Ingram (1 November 2021). "26 Changemakers Fighting for the Planet". Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b Scarlett Westbrook (21 December 2018). "I'm 14 years old and Brexit is already affecting my life. Why won't people listen to me?". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Children's Media Conference: Scarlett Westbrook". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  5. ^ Rakeem Hyatt (30 May 2019). "'Why we skipped school' - meet the Birmingham children protesting for climate change".
  6. ^ Emma Loffhagen, Ghazal Abbasi, Alex Goldsmith, Radhika Aligh (29 October 2021). "Gen Zero: Meet the next generation of climate campaigners - Scarlett Westbrook". Retrieved 6 May 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "'Why we skipped school' - meet the Birmingham children protesting for climate change". 30 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  8. ^ Scarlett Westbrook (24 April 2019). "Dear Boris Johnson, using your gigantic platform to moan about kids like me won't stop us fighting climate change". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  9. ^ Will Millar. "Teen activist Scarlett Westbrook tells DMU how to fight climate change". De Montfort University Leicester. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Stories Festival Speaker Profile: Scarlett Westbrook". Evening Standard Stories Festival. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. ^ Zamzam Ibrahim. "Teach the Future unveils Climate Emergency Education Bill". Students Organising for Sustainability United Kingdom. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  12. ^ EAUC (24 February 2020). "English Climate Emergency Education Bill launched". EAUC: The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  13. ^ Olivia Laing (17 October 2021). "Gen Z on how to save the world: young climate activists speak out". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  14. ^ Mishti Ali (26 November 2021). "What the new student-written climate education bill actually means". i-D Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Climate Education Bill". UK Parliament: Parliamentary Bills. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  16. ^ Joe Brindle. "What is the Climate Emergency Education Bill?". Teach the Future. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  17. ^ "English Climate Emergency Education Bill launched". EAUC: The Alliance for Sustainability Leadership in Education. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  18. ^ Sarah Wilson (26 January 2022). "'Their voices can't be ignored any longer': MPs to debate student's Climate Education Bill". The Big Issue. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  19. ^ Mishti Ali (26 November 2021). "What the new student-written climate education bill actually means". i-D Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Climate Education Bill". UK Parliament: Parliamentary Bills. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  21. ^ Charlotte Cross (15 November 2019). "Tens of thousands sign petition urging politicians to debate climate crisis ahead of election". ITV News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  22. ^ Charlotte Cross (15 November 2019). "Tens of thousands sign petition urging politicians to debate climate crisis ahead of election". ITV News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  23. ^ Zoe Drewett (29 November 2019). "Ignoring the piffle paffle, here's what was said in the leaders' climate debate". Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  24. ^ Krishnan Guru-Murthy (28 November 2019). "The Channel 4 News Climate Debate". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  25. ^ Frances Rankin (9 March 2020). "March for Women Highlights Need for Climate Justice and Gender Equality". DeSmog. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  26. ^ "Thousands march through London for International Women's Day". The Morning Star. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  27. ^ Frances Rankin (9 March 2020). "March for Women Highlights Need for Climate Justice and Gender Equality". DeSmog. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  28. ^ "Teenage climate activists Scarlett Westbrook and Joe Brindle go live on BBC Breakfast to talk about the Teach the Future campaign". Vimeo. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  29. ^ Laura Bundock (1 June 2021). "Youngsters suffering from 'eco-anxiety' as campaigners demand more climate change teaching in schools". Sky News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  30. ^ "Children's Media Conference: Scarlett Westbrook". The Children's Media Conference. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  31. ^ Almaz Ohene, Helle Abelvik-Lawson (16 July 2020). "Meet the young people of colour fighting for our planet". Greenpeace. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  32. ^ "Webinar: The big ideas debate with Ed Miliband MP: Building a better, fairer and greener future". Institute for Public Policy Research. 7 September 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Women of the Future Awards shortlist 2020". Women of the Future Awards. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  34. ^ Solitaire Townsend (16 November 2020). "100 UK Leading Environmentalists (Who Happen To Be Women)". Forbes. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  35. ^ Olivia Laing (17 October 2021). "Gen Z on how to save the world: young climate activists speak out". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  36. ^ Emma Loffhagen, Ghazal Abbasi, Alex Goldsmith, Radhika Aligh (29 October 2021). "Gen Zero: Meet the next generation of climate campaigners - Scarlett Westbrook". Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 May 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ Simon Ingram (1 November 2021). "26 changemakers fighting for the planet". National Geographic. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  38. ^ "The Independent:Scarlett Westbrook". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  39. ^ Scarlett Westbrook (27 May 2020). "A whole new world: four writers and activists share their visions of utopia". gal-dem. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  40. ^ "The Metro: Scarlett Westbrook". The Metro. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  41. ^ "i-D: Scarlett Westbrook". i-D. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  42. ^ "Labour for a Green New Deal". Labour for a Green New Deal. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  43. ^ Scarlett Westbrook (5 November 2021). "Young people like me have made history this Cop26 'youth day' – now it's your turn". The Independent. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  44. ^ "Your digest of analysis from the British and international press". The Week. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  45. ^ "Roll of Honour 2021". The Diana Award. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  46. ^ Ashna Hurynag (5 November 2021). "COP26: Thousands of activists march on the streets of Glasgow". Sky News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
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