Jude Walker, aged 11, walked from Yorkshire to London to call on the British government to fight climate change more effectively.
As if by design, his name is Jude Walker — Jude "the walker" — the 11-year-old boy who in August 2021 completed an extraordinary feat with the aim of contributing to the fight against global warming.
On 25 July he set off from Hebden Bridge, in the English county of Yorkshire, heading for the city of London. A journey of roughly 338 kilometres that he chose to make in perhaps the most sustainable way possible: on foot. Every day he walked at least 16 kilometres, accompanied along the route by family and friends who followed in a campervan. Even a couple of MPs joined him for certain stretches.
Walker took this decision to encourage as many people as possible to sign the petition launched by Zero carbon campaign, whose purpose is to push the British government to impose a carbon tax on carbon dioxide emissions. The young boy believes this measure is fundamental to slowing humanity's advance towards "a dystopian world".
"We are truly moved by Jude's support and his determination in asking politicians to take responsibility in the face of the climate crisis," commented Hannah Dillon, director of Zero carbon campaign. "At just eleven years old, he has understood the gravity of this emergency and the pressing need to find effective solutions to it better than many adults."
The boy was inspired in part by Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist who founded the Fridays for Future movement, and in part by Dara McAnulty, a naturalist from Northern Ireland and author of a book that Walker read during lockdown. "His words pushed me to walk more and appreciate the nature around me. That's also why, to spread my ideas, I chose to do exactly that — go for a walk," the young boy recounts.
The young Englishman hopes that Cop 26, the next United Nations climate conference to be held in Scotland in November, will mark a turning point for environmental policy. The United Kingdom is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but that is not enough.
This is demonstrated by the extreme weather events that this summer have struck the entire planet, starting with London itself, hit by unprecedented flooding. The alarm has sounded, but we cannot run. We must fight the flames. Jude Walker did so in his own way, arriving in the capital on 14 August. Now it is our turn too.