YOUNGSTERS staged their fourth weekly sit-down outside their schools today demanding an end to exploitation of North Sea gas and oil.

The Students for Survival group is building a nationwide network of activists at schools who are working with the Just Stop Oil campaign group to organise direct action.

Today students staged sit-down protests at schools in London and Liverpool demanding that the UK government stops granting licences for new oil and gas projects.

Up to 30 students from one London school staged a sit-down, while groups from three more schools joined the protests for the first time.

Protester Alex,16, from south London, said: “Our futures are being destroyed by climate breakdown, and governments are still failing to act. Young people are rising up to demand an end to ‘business as usual.’

“We demand the government Just Stop Oil: continuing to dig for new fossil fuels in 2022 is genocidal.”

Zak,15, from Norwich said: “We’ve been brought up to be obedient and prioritise our education, but when our government refuses to take meaningful action on the climate crisis, what choice do we have?

“My generation will be affected by this more than anyone else. The government needs to get a grip and act in the best interests of the people.”

Last month the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produced its latest climate impacts report, which UN secretary general Antonio Guterres described as a “damning indictment of failed climate leadership.”

The report said: “Any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.”