Scarlett Westbrook with her Doctorate of Science

Scarlett Westbrook is a climate justice activist and journalist born in Birmingham in 2004. Wikipedia says she is noted for her work in climate and education policy, and was the youngest regular policy writer in Parliamentary history.

She is a spokesperson and coordinator with the UK Student Climate Network, head of political engagement at Teach the Future, a prominent figure in the Fridays for Future movement and a spokesperson for Labour for a Green New Deal.

She has received a Doctorate of Science (honoris causa) by the University of London and says “it feels very surreal to have a ‘degree’ before starting my undergrad. I can’t put into words how grateful I am to the university for this honour.

“We live in a world that is undeniably terrifying, whether that is because of the climate crisis, structural poverty, inequality and so much more. Yet, instead of giving up in the face of such horrific realities, we keep going. We keep fighting in our own ways because if we don’t, who will?

“This radical hope is what drives me and so many others. Hope is a verb: we don’t just find it everywhere but we have to fight for it too. We have to uphold the things that inspire hope too; from something as simple as having a community, to a dream as complex as changing the world. We have to make hope by believing we deserve better and doing all we can to get that, in whatever form that takes.

“I have gathered quite a collection of “firsts” and “youngest-evers” in the climate and policy worlds. But I will be the first to tell you that none of it matters. The climate crisis may be driven by a select number of individuals who are overconsuming but it certainly won’t be solved by individuals. Only structural change will tackle it. We need transformative action from the grassroots up, and that won’t be led or secured by any one individual.

“I don’t just owe this to the people in my life but to every single person who has carried on in spite of the climate crisis to demand better, to fight for the world we deserve. I truly believe that change is not just a necessity but an inevitability that we can create together, starting with something as simple as dreaming.

The Times described her on 24 February 2023 as a British Greta Thunberg who has burst the Westminster bubble. She is trying to get a climate education bill passed in the Commons.

Her articles have appeared in the Independent, the Metro, gal-dem and i-D.