Evening Standard Comment: Back the spirit of youth over climate change

Today, the world’s children say: enough. You adults — you politicians, businesspeople, media — have not listened. While you fret about issues that don’t matter to our future, you ignore the biggest problem — climate change. It dwarfs all other issues for our generation, and it is your fault. Your problem to fix.

Today, we go on strike.

It is hard to argue with the narrative, particularly as Londoners. We feel the damage that’s been done to the climate. Unbearable summer temperatures in the high 30s, parched dry winters.

It is not true that this is only an issue that is felt by the young. A recent Evening Standard poll found 85 per cent of Britons of all ages are now concerned about global warming. The temperature gauge of popular opinion is rising fast.

But much of that is due to the young bringing it to the world’s attention. The figure of Greta Thunberg has had a towering impact on old and young alike.

While we agree with teachers that children should not be encouraged to miss school, we applaud the spirit of young activism that we see on our streets today . Mass, global demonstrations crank up the volume and force politicians to listen and make changes happen. Political leaders are getting the message. It was pressure from the likes of France’s President Macron that finally brought Brazil’s premier Jair Bolsonaro to heel over the fires in the Amazon. It is through mainstream politics that the young will get their demands translated into real policy change. But protests such as today’s will spur our policymakers into action.

Thomas Cook in crisis

Thomas Cook’s first package tour was in 1841, when he took passengers on a one-day train trip from Leicester to Loughborough. The cost was a shilling apiece. Today Thomas Cook is arguably the world’s most famous travel firm. Despite the rise of Airbnb and DIY holidays, it still takes millions of Brits, Germans and Scandinavians to far-flung destinations every year.

So its collapse, possibly by Sunday , would be disastrous. It would mean repatriating 180,000 holidaymakers at a cost to the taxpayer of £500 million. Hundreds of thousands of families who have booked for next year will face a battle for refunds .

It will cause turmoil in the travel industry; 9,000 jobs losses and 500 shop closures in the UK alone. More than 3,000 hoteliers in the poorer countries of the Mediterranean would face ruin as they have yet to be paid for the summer season.

Cook’s banks are understandably reluctant to lend this debt-ladened business yet more billions to get it through its cash crunch. But playing hardball at the last minute with a sudden demand for £200 million is churlish, given the alternative. The irony is, the banks themselves will lose a fortune if they write off the company. We hope a deal can be done, but are not optimistic.

Rugby’s world in motion

It has already been a special year of sport. Tiger Woods completed his comeback by winning the Masters. The Women’s World Cup was the best yet. The Wimbledon final was stunning and that summer of English cricket remarkable.

Well, there’s more to come. Today in Tokyo, the ninth men’s Rugby World Cup begins as the hosts face Russia. It is the first in Asia, and perhaps the most open ever, with six of the 20 teams considered capable of winning the tournament. Three come with home interest. Ireland are the world’s top-ranked team. Wales won the Six Nations Grand Slam. And England, fancied more than either, arrive with lofty ambitions under Eddie Jones.

They must overcome the Southern Hemisphere superpowers: Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The All Blacks are bidding for a third straight title. The sense is they have lost a bit of lustre but they can put that to bed tomorrow against South Africa. It will be a brutal tournament played in wildly varying conditions: let a brilliant sporting year continue.