GRETA Thunberg should be invited to Glasgow allowing the local authority to demonstrate their support to tackle climate change according to Labour councillors.

Councillor Paul Carey wrote to the leader of Glasgow City Council, councillor Susan Aitken, at the beginning of September asking if it would be possible to invite the teenage activist to speak a full council meeting.

Mr Carey, who is still to hear back from Ms Aitken, has issued a fresh plea to the leader, as the local authority pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030.

At the city administration committee yesterday, councillors said they needed the help of third sector organisations in order to demonstrate to activists they are making a difference by 2025.

During the meeting protesters from Extinction Rebellion interrupted briefly saying that the action the council was taking was “too little too late”.

When they were told they couldn’t speak they then held banners, demanding “zero emissions by 2025”, in silence at the back of the room while discussions continued.

Councillor Martha Wardrop (Green) said: “There has been a lot of engagement with a range of activists who are in the room today. We didn’t meet all their demands but we have gone some way.

“There is an ongoing dialogue which needs to happen to make sure we are listening to what the science is saying and what the people in the city are seeking from us.”

Following the meeting Daryl Tayar, who has been representing Extinction Rebellion on the council’s working group, said the organisation was frustrated with the slow pace of change.

Mr Tayar said: “The city council declared a climate emergency in May this year but they are keeping it very quiet.

“A recent survey shows that 91 per cent of Glaswegians don’t know about the declaration.

“Why is the council doing so little, so slowly and so quietly, when this is a global and local emergency. We came here because we are angry, because we are grieving, because we are terrified.

“Our city faces the possibility of serious food shortages and flooding within the next 2-10 years unless we all join together and hold the council and the government to account.

“Thousands are already dying globally as a result of climate change. We need net zero emissions by 2025 and we need a climate citizens assembly here in Glasgow on how we’re going to achieve this.”

Glasgow, which will host COP26 next year, is determined to lead the way on climate change for the rest of Scotland. On Wednesday Scottish ministers agreed that the country would become “net-zero” by 2045 and reduce carbon emissions by 70 per cent by 2030.

Earlier in the week Greta Thunberg condemned world leaders of “stealing her dreams and childhood” during an emotional speech at the UN climate action summit in New York.

Councillor Carey believes that councillors should be able to show their support to Greta.

He said: “I am asking the Leader of the Council to invite this young lady, Greta Thunberg to any future council meetings to show that Glasgow is getting behind, not just this young lady and the fantastic work she does but the Paris Agreement.”

The Paris Agreement is an understanding within the United Nations framework convention on climate change to mitigate global warming.

Mr Carey went on: “We should be able to show this young lady we are committed to supporting her.

“Greta has been a worldwide inspiration particularly for young people so it would be great if she could speak at a full council meeting with a number of young people in the public gallery there to listen to her.

“To issue an invitation to this young girl either through the leaders’ office or through the Lord Provost’s office would absolutely fantastic.”

A council spokesman said: “The leader of the council has made clear her admiration for the role being played by Greta Thurnberg - and also thousands of young people in Glasgow - in drawing the world’s attention to the climate emergency.

“Glasgow is about to take a place at the very centre of that discussion, as it prepares to host the UN’s COP26 conference next year. The leader feels hosting that event might offer a better platform for young people to inspire the city than attending a meeting of the council.”