More than 300 people protested outside Waltham Forest town hall last night, calling for the declaration of a climate emergency.

Part of the national movement headed by campaign group Extinction Rebellion, which is warning of the devastating consequences of doing nothing to tackle climate change, protesters marched from several schools in the borough, gathering outside the town hall at 4pm.

The group, made up of children and adults, protested peacefully outside the town hall and handed Cllr Clyde Loakes, cabinet member for the environment, a petition signed by more than 200 school children.

In their petition, Extinction Rebellion makes four demands of local and national government. These include declaring a climate emergency, moving away from an economy that produces huge amounts of carbon emissions, creating a citizens’ assembly to enforce change, protect biodiversity and reduce CO2 emissions to nothing by 2025.

Locally, the group wants Waltham Forest Council to press for funding from the Mayor of London to enable the authority to become carbon neutral by 2025.

The protests have come in the wake of national and even global protests that saw school children walking out of lessons, arguing why they should bother learning when those in power have ignored the facts for 30 years.

Nationally, Extinction Rebellion protesters have been blockading areas of central London for more than a week, demanding the Government take immediate action.

The group has warned that if something isn’t done now, global temperature rises could trigger food shortages and more extreme weather events, killing thousands of people and leaving some of the world’s most famous cities, including London, submerged due to sea level rises.

Waltham Forest Council is due to debate whether or not to declare a climate emergency at its full council meeting on Thursday evening (26 April).

So far, more than 70 councils and more than 190 institutions have declared a climate emergency and called for action, putting pressure on the national Government.

A spokesman for Extinction Rebellion Walthamstow said: “These environmental changes will affect everyone on the planet. As a borough proud of its global community and with councillors who claim to care about our environment, Extinction Rebellion Walthamstow calls on families and local environmental groups to join together to demand that the council not only tells the truth about the climate change crisis by declaring a climate emergency, but then acts like it – for our families here in London and those across the world.”

The council will make a final decision as to whether it will declare a climate emergency at the full council meeting on Thursday.