EAST Lothian’s MSP listened to local children’s opinions on climate change and the environment when he attended community group COP26 vigils in North Berwick and East Linton at the weekend.

The North Berwick West Beach event, organised by Sustaining North Berwick, gathered members of the public to share their fears on the climate crisis and their opinions on what governments should do to halt the global rise in temperature.

And Paul McLennan MSP said he was delighted by the children’s knowledge of the subject.

He said: “It’s great to see so many kids, because it is about their future.

“We need to keep the pressure up on world leaders, on leaders in Scotland and the UK.

“The key thing for me is to think globally and act locally.

“What we can do in East Lothian is be a real exemplar. We can really change things.”

Mr McLennan was joined by Dr Eurig Scandrett, lecturer at Queen Margaret University and former head of community action at Friends of the Earth Scotland.

Dr Scandrett highlighted that the fact so many countries were now speaking about the problem was progress in itself.

He added: “And it’s not actually all humans that caused climate change.

“I didn’t make the decision to base our economy on fossil fuels.

“The people who are making these decisions are actually a tiny proportion of the world’s population.

“Some of us are fortunate enough to have some choices in our lifestyles, and I’m sure the people here are doing things like that, using public transport, cycling and so on.

“We have that choice – but the vast majority of people in the world don’t have that choice – whether they’re on low incomes with poorly insulated houses, whether they’re living up against the fence line of the oil refineries.

“Those of us who have choice need to use our voices to keep the pressure on.”

Mr McLennan and Dr Scandrett were joined by various members of the vigil to share their thoughts, including five-year-old Rory, who said we need to plant more trees and move away from fossil fuels; Siri, 10, who pointed out that “if you just use non-renewables all the time, eventually there’s nothing left”; and Rab, 14, who said the £4.54bn spent on nuclear weapons in the UK last year could have been used to transition to renewable energy.

Lilia, 16, said: “You talk a lot about money and recycling and infrastructure.

“It’s easy to forget that large swathes of the population live in relative poverty.

“Funding and services need to be increased to educate everyone and reach everyone.”

Mr McLennan told the crowd he was impressed by the children’s level of engagement.

He said: “The children’s knowledge and passion was incredible.”

Mr McLennan also joined Climate Action East Linton (CAEL) on Saturday, at the newly refurbished high street phonebox, which was filled with messages on climate change by members of the local community.

A CAEL spokesperson said: “Despite the heavy rain, the atmosphere was really positive, friendly and informative, and many passers-by stopped for a chat and took away information leaflets.

“Mr McLennan gave a short talk on his hopes for a coalition of East Lothian climate action groups, who all have the same aims and objectives, one of which is to work towards making East Lothian Scotland’s first carbon-neutral region.

“He also outlined the real prospects of job conversion opportunities and energy-saving house building for the area.”

The event ended with a candlelit vigil in the village square, where a piper played and poems were read.

Further vigils will be held in East Linton tomorrow (Friday) and next Thursday (November 11), 6pm to 7pm.