Giving primary school students the opportunity to table motions on climate change in Parliament was not enough, students from 42 schools told MPs yesterday, urging them to take action based on their suggestions.

“Thank you for welcoming us here for the 12th year running, but don’t just listen to what we have to say and stop there. We want to see action being taken,” the students said in their opening speech, addressed to the Speaker.

Students from 42 schools convened in Parliament yesterday, calling for more action on climate change. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

The motion tabled by the students, encouraging MPs to take action, was approved unanimously. Members from both parties attended the session.

Approximately 85 students who are part of the EkoSkola programme proposed a number of measures, highlighting the need to address the problems caused by climate change.

The proposals included introducing more car-free days, avoiding “unnecessary procrastination on alternative renewable sources of energy” and the stepping up of educational campaigns on sustainable development.

Don’t just listen to what we have to say and stop there. We want to see action being taken

The parliamentary session was organised by Nature Trust and local representatives of the Foundation for Environmental Education – the bodies that run the EkoSkola programme.

This year’s theme was spurred by the agreement approved at COP21 in Paris late last year, where countries pledged to work to limit the overall temperature rise overall to two degrees Celsius.

The students’ proposals were welcomed by both Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil, who attended the session.

“The proposals being made tackle very serious issues that definitely merit our attention and we must go beyond congratulating you for your work and give you some answers,” Dr Muscat told the students.

The Prime Minister said he welcomed the proposals on transport, commending the students for choosing to focus extensively on this subject.

“We must also step up efforts to increase transport at sea, which is the sort of transport we will be focusing on in the future,” the Prime Minister said, adding that at the moment it was mainly Gozitans and tourists who made regular use of the ferry services available.

Dr Busuttil echoed the Prime Minister’s sentiment, congratulating the young students for coming up with complex proposals.

“Every little thing we do on a daily basis, from the second we open our eyes in the morning, impacts the environment.

“This means the environment isn’t just about flowers and trees or buildings but about our lives.

“You have tabled some very important proposals and it’s now our responsibility to take action,” Dr Busuttil said.