If you were ever in doubt that the hundreds of thousands of school-striking students around the globe would make in an impact, they already have. By the sound of how political leaders in the United Kingdom, Scotland and Wales are talking to their members of parliaments, the school-strike movement is changing history.

It has been happening in council chambers again and again over the last six months: Before a motion to declare a climate emergency would be up for a vote among councillors, local teenagers from schools in the city would be making impassioned speeches about what this issue means for them. They have visibly touched and influenced the decision-making in councils, and today, more than 500 councils in five countries have declared a climate emergency.

This week, the decision-making for the first time moved another step upwards: from the local to the national government level, and in three different governments over the same week.

When Jeremy Corbyn, leader of UK Labour party, spoke in the Parliament on Wednesday 1 May 2019 to ask the members of the House to support a motion declaring an environment and climate emergency as the first government in the world, he started the speech with describing how the students had impressed him:

“A few weeks ago, like many other Members on both sides of the House, I was deeply moved to see the streets outside Parliament filled with colour and the noise of children chanting ‘Our planet, our future’. For someone of my generation, it was inspiring but also humbling that children felt that they had to leave school to teach us adults a lesson. The truth is that they are ahead of the politicians on this, the most important issue of our time.”

→ Transcript of speech | Video recording | Audio | More info

On Sunday 28 April 2019, as the first government in the world, First Minister of the Scottish government Nicola Sturgeon declared a climate emergency at the annual Scottish National Party conference, and here’s how she explained it:

“A few weeks ago, I met some of the young climate change campaigners who’ve gone on strike from school to raise awareness of their cause. They want governments around the world to declare a climate emergency. They say that’s what the science tells us. And they are right. So today, as First Minister of Scotland, I am declaring that there is a climate emergency. And Scotland will live up to our responsibility to tackle it.”

→ Video recording (where the statement starts at 24 min) | Audio | More info