CITY councillors will be asked to support children taking time off from school for future climate strikes like those held in Oxford over recent months.
Millions of children around the world took part in the global youth climate strike last month, inspired by climate activist and Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg.
Thousands packed into Broad Street on September 20, moving from Bonn Square, where previous strikes had been held, to accommodate more protesters.
In a motion proposed by Green councillor Dick Wolff, he will ask for the authority to ‘place on record its support for climate strikers and our admiration for their commitment and determination’.
He will also ask for the city council to request that Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for education and cultural services, Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, ‘contacts Oxford’s schools setting out [the city council’s] support for the youth strikers.’
READ MORE: Students ditch school in strike for climate change at Broad Street, Oxford
The motion will also call that ‘absenteeism from school to attend climate strikes is treated leniently’.
He will urge people to take more action in the future. The city council’s citizens assembly on climate change started at the weekend. A second weekend will follow later this month.
The motion also asks for the council’s cabinet and scrutiny committee to ‘establish and properly resource’ a ‘standing panel’.
That would then be used to ‘take forward any recommendations arising from the citizens assembly’.
It would also ‘review existing policies in the light of the declared climate emergency and support the development of new carbon mitigation and reduction policies where necessary’.
The council voted to call a climate emergency in January.
All Oxfordshire councils have declared one.
The motion has been seconded by independent councillor David Henwood and is likely to get substantial support at the next council meeting on Monday.
READ MORE: 'Student strike': Kids as young as 4 set to walk out over climate
The meeting will be held at Oxford Town Hall from 5pm and is open to the public.
A total of seven motions have been submitted by councillors for next week’s meeting.
Generally, only a few of them are debated during full council meetings because they are closed at about 9pm at the latest. Some are carried onto later meetings.
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