Authors

Scarlett Westbrook has been a climate activist since the age of eleven. She is a regular columnist for The Independent, a Greenpeace 30 under 30 activist, and the recipient of the Women of the Future Young Star award and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) Big Ideas award and the Diana Award, the highest accolade a young person can receive for humanitarian work. In addition to this, she was awarded the Sutton Trust ‘outstanding achievement’ award and was featured by Global Citizen for her work. In 2020 she was featured on the Forbes list of Leading UK Environmentalists. In November 2022, Scarlett received a Doctorate of Science honoris causa from the University of London in recognition of her contributions to the climate field.

She is the co-founder and coordinator of the ‘Teach the Future’ campaign, which has seen her contribute to a variety of climate and education policies at various stages of the legislative process. She wrote the Climate Education Bill with MP Nadia Whittome and was a lead organiser of the Teach the Future parliamentary reception in 2020; the first-ever student run parliamentary reception and co organised the first-ever Westminster Hall Debate on climate education with MP Nadia Whittome. In 2021, she successfully changed British education law, when significant elements of her Climate Education Bill were passed, introducing climate education into primary schools for the first time and phasing out gas boilers in schools with green energy pods.

She is head of political engagement and spokesperson for the UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN), Scarlett focuses on policy, outreach and is a spokesperson for a Labour Green New Deal – notably addressing over 200 MPs to discuss and improve climate policy. Scarlett was one of the organisers of the largest climate strikes in 2019 which prompted 450,000 people to protest across the UK. She was also a leading organiser of the Birmingham school strikes which attracted thousands of protestors, demanding the city to adopt a clean air zone and pass a 2030 net-zero decarbonisation date. She has coordinated climate protests across the UK – from London to Glasgow.

As well as her regular column for The Independent, her work has been published in i-D, the Metro and the i. Scarlett was the youngest person to be longlisted for the Merky Books Prize. In her spare time, she is an international figure skater.

Scarlett Westbrook is currently writing her first non-fiction book. She is represented by Gyamfia Osei.