We call for Queen Mary University of London to declare a climate emergency.
 
Across the country, as well as the UK government, councils and boroughs have been declaring climate emergencies, including Tower Hamlets. In the last year, our media outlets have bombarded us with evidence that we cannot waste time acting against climate emergency. We no longer can ignore the scale of the crisis. London in particular faces issues other areas may not, including the grave impact of air pollution. A recent study showed that 2 million people in London are living in areas with toxic air pollution (Guardian, 2019). At the moment no London universities have declared a climate emergency.  
 
Queen Mary University of London has made a sustainability commitment, as well as a carbon reduction plan. However, this is not in accordance with Tower Hamlet’s carbon neutral dedication by 2025. Queen Mary University of London needs to declare a climate emergency in order to honour their sustainability targets and take their environmental action further.
 
Students past, present and future, will be those impacted tremendously by climate breakdown. We need to ensure that sustainability is at the forefront of Queen Mary’s policy and ethos and that the University is doing everything within its capability to tackle the climate emergency.
 
If possible, please sign the petition using your university email address.