Bernard Peel wrote that we are on a “long haul and not in an emergency”, (Craven Herald letters, October 15).

I appreciate that he recognises we have a long way to go and that we are facing climate change but his reluctance to see the emergency baffles me. Even if he knows of a planet B, surely he must realise that extinction is permanent?

Biodiversity is being annihilated around the world, our seas and rivers are being poisoned, our air is becoming toxic, flooding and desertification will render vast tracts of land uninhabitable and lead to mass migration. In the UK we have contributed significantly to this disastrous scenario as Matthew Annable, Amy Brown and Councillor Brown have eloquently pointed out.

Climate change is happening now therefore we must act now for our children and future generations.

As a person obviously concerned about climate change, Mr Peel surely must understand and sympathise with those who are frustrated about the lack of government action and constant delay tactics, despite the scientific evidence? He is right to point out that it is the people on lower incomes who suffer because of our depleting car and manufacturing industries but there are many alternatives connected to a greener way forward which can create jobs.

We can’t continue to ride and fly around anymore. Alternatives must be investigated now. People throughout the world are suffering now, as forests burn, cities flood and icebergs melt because of our over consumption.

I don’t think that Mr Peel is Johnny out of step as he describes because he feels the need to write about climate change. The real out of steps are the greedy, climate change deniers, manipulating our media and clinging onto the ‘potential profits’ they see in fracking, oil extraction and burning our moors.

The people who have taken the trouble to reply to Mr Peel and the young people peacefully demonstrating for change on the streets are frustrated because they have read the science. They know it is necessary to act now. They know that this really is an emergency. We are not in a ‘long haul,’ we are in the midst of the 6th mass extinction, with about 200 species going extinct every single day!

To quote Greta Thunberg: ‘When your house is on fire and you want to keep your house from burning to the ground then that does require some level of panic. We have been cutting corners. Around the year 2030, we will be in a position where we will set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control that will most likely lead to the end of our civilisation as we know it. That is, unless in that time permanent and unprecedented changes in all aspects of our society have taken place, including the reduction of our CO2 emissions by at least 50 per cent.’

When governments and the law fail to provide any assurance of adequate protection for our planet’s future it surely is necessary to speak out and take action. Throughout history, the most important changes have come from the grassroots through protest. Come on Skipton, wake up !

Young people all over the world are demanding to be heard.

I believe we should support them with more than the placatory and complacent words of Mr Peel like ‘we need to adopt a balanced approach to the future and a balanced view of history’ or ‘I’m afraid this is a long haul, not an emergency.’

I would prefer words like: ‘Change the narrative and who knows what is possible? Accept the diseased imagination of the culture we have created and the death count begins now. Anger, love and joy may sound like odd bedfellows, but these are the seeds of a future that will offer life – not success, but life’ (Rowan Williams).

Judith Hargreaves

Carleton