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It's the year of the landmark COP26 climate conference and a big year for environmental activism.

But although lockdown has brought a halt to street protests in the UK - questions are being asked about how to make climate action more racially inclusive.

Sky News has spoken to one teenage campaigner who says she believes it's harder for people of colour to take part in and get climate justice.

And a leading figure on climate change within the Church of England says it's time to re-think what she calls "shocking" protests.

For several years now we've seen demonstrations by the campaign group Extinction Rebellion grab headlines and focus much-needed attention on the climate emergency. But often their success is due to the disruptive nature of the protests which then leads to arrests.

For protestors getting detained risks a criminal record and a fine prompting criticism this kind of action is a "white middle-class activity".

How to engage people of colour with climate activism is an issue pondered by the Venerable Dr Rosemarie Mallett, the Archdeacon of Croydon.

Rosemarie has established herself as a leading figure on climate change within the Church of England trying to give a voice to those who feel less empowered to bring about change.

She says: "Many black people understand that if they are arrested it's going to have a tremendous impact on their lives and perhaps their employment, and so many other ways in which they and their family live. I think a lot of people just will not take part. They see it as a white middle-class activity."

Rosemarie questions whether the climate movement is at a crossroads. She says change often doesn't come via revolution but via evolution.

She says: "I think there's a need for an evolution away from the kind of sharp, shocking protest. I think we've done it. And I think with any group it needs to evolve and think about its tactics in how it wants to change the debate."

White privilege and protest is an issue not lost on those who have taken part in XR protests.

Lucy Craig, now aged 73, was arrested for a breach of the Public Order Act in central London in April 2019 . She says she believes if she had been young and black the process wouldn't have been "nearly as easy".

And she candidly says she was prepared to be pay more than the £400 penalty she was given without it - in her words - "breaking the bank".

Asked if she thinks being a middle-class, well off white woman helped her within the protest she replies "absolutely".

She says: "I felt a sense of responsibility as an older person without a job to worry about, with a pension coming in every month. So I had very little to lose."

Supporting XR is not her first foray into activism. Lucy proudly reveals she once tore a fence down at Greenham Common which saw high profile protests in the 1980s and 1990s over the storage of nuclear weapons.

Asked if she thinks activism is fuelled by white privilege she replies: "I certainly do. Like everything else. Everything is fuelled by white privilege.

Anjali Raman-Middleton is a young climate activist who says it's harder for people of colour to get their voices heard.

In August last year 17-year-old Anjali from Lewisham, southeast London, set up the pollution advocacy group Choked Up with three other students following the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah.

Anjali and Ella went to the same primary school. Ella lived by the busy South Circular Road and died of air pollution in 2013.

She says the Choked Up campaign is trying to bring awareness to the fact that people of colour are disproportionately affected by air pollution.

She says: "I had seen the effect that pollution has had on my community and other communities in this area, particularly communities of colour. And I thought that it was wrong that the government was ignoring this issue and ignoring our lives."

Anjali says she's taken part in climate strikes and marches but believes all environmental activism in the UK is a very white activity.

She says: "I would say that it is more difficult to be a climate activist if you are a person of colour. And I think a lot of this is about the way that environmental issues are framed by the movement. And that they're often framed through a very white middle-class perspective."

Rosemarie Mallett says XR protests are not something she wants to take part in but acknowledges the need to "shake the establishment up". She says she prefers writing letters and trying to make a difference within her community.

She says: "It doesn't have to be those kind of big ticket events. I think that black people, particularly around church communities, are very much more reserved, cautious but definitely willing to make the changes necessary within their lives and their communities."

Anjali Raman-Middleton says lockdown has forced the environmental activism movement to look at how it can diversify.
She says: "There's an important role for people of colour to play within the environment movement and their voices are valuable and they must be heard."