Climate Community

We respect the work of so many other people, both in the UK and overseas - sometimes at the cost of their lives. We aim to support all who share our hopes. 

Our Grandchildren’s Climate is building links with other groups which share our convictions. It also wants specifically to build links with similar groups globally (but initially in Europe), like  European Grandparents for Climate (EGC) www.grandparentsforclimate.eu and its national members. 

 

The Co-Chairs of EGC have recently written to the UK Government, as follows: 

Subject: Protest Against the Arrest of Peaceful Activists at a Quaker Meeting House on March 27 2025

We, the European Grandparents for Climate, are an umbrella organization of European organizations formed by elderly people who worry about the climate crisis and its impact on future generations. Today write to you in order to express our profound concern and indignation at the arrest of six peaceful climate activists at a Quaker Meeting House in the United Kingdom on March 27. We had heard about this in our national press and from our member organization in the UK, ‚Our Grandchildren‘s Climate‘.

This incident, involving the detainment of individuals engaged in non-violent protest within a place of peace and spiritual reflection, represents not only a troubling act of criminalization, but an assault on civil society itself. Quakers have a centuries-old tradition of peaceful protest and conscientious resistance. To target such a space is to undermine one of the UK’s most respected traditions of moral and ethical activism.

These young people, like many others around the world, are responding with justified urgency to the ongoing climate crisis and to the inaction of governments in the face of it. Rather than being silenced or punished, their voices must be heard and respected. The future they are fighting for is our shared future.

The suppression of peaceful protest – especially in sacred or historically significant spaces – erodes the foundations of democracy. It sends a dangerous message to younger generations: that peaceful dissent will not be tolerated, that the democratic rights of expression and assembly are conditional and that moral concern can be treated as criminal intent.

As grandparents, we feel a deep moral obligation to stand by those who are fighting for a livable planet. We call on the UK government to:

1.        Immediately drop all charges against the six individuals arrested on March 27

2.        Reaffirm its commitment to protecting the right to peaceful protest and civil disobedience.

We urge you to reflect on the long-term implications of these actions. History will not judge kindly those who silence conscience and crush hope.

Sincerely,

Dr. Godela von Kirchbach                                                     Eva Riemer

Co-chairs European Grandparents for Climate

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