By Fraser Rogers
A young schoolgirl who wrote to the Prime Minister to share her concerns about climate change was shocked to receive a response from him.
Olivia Dixey, 12, from Gillingham, penned a letter to Downing Street to outline her worries about rising sea levels and melting ice caps.
Not expecting much to come from it, the Robert Napier School pupil was left stunned to receive an official reply from Sir Keir Starmer’s office.
Her grandad, Andrew Dixey, told KentOnline how proud the Medway family are of the youngster.
He said: “We only found out she wanted to send it after she had already written it, which was remarkable.
“We are all so proud of her.
“It was such a high standard. We were all so amazed, we couldn’t believe it was written by a 12-year-old.”
“She gets concerned over so many conflicts in the world.
“It’s very possible she could write to him (Sir Keir Starmer) again about a different thing. She was so pleased about receiving a response.”
In Olivia’s letter to the PM and Labour leader, she wrote: “I am writing in concern for places like the Maldives, this is because of the melting ice caps in places like Greenland and Antarctica.”
“One of the risks we are looking at is flooding,” she added, “I’m talking about it being there forever, this issue could easily be resolved.
“In conclusion, I ask that you review this issue and correct it before 2030, because after this point the problems cannot be resolved. Thank you.”
Much to Olivia’s surprise, the Prime Minister responded, with a letter from his office reading: “It is really encouraging to see young people, like you, consider the impact of climate change and care for the future of our planet.
“You will be pleased to learn the UK government is working very hard to meet the challenges ahead and our natural environment.
“Making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of the five missions of this Government – delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating to net zero across the economy.”
“Each of us will need to help,” Starmer added. “Even small changes can make a big difference.”
When Olivia told her teachers at the Gillingham school about this achievement, they were so impressed that they requested copies for their teacher’s newsletter and to post on their notice boards.
