It’s extraordinary that as we breach 1.5° – which only in 2018, the IPCC said wouldn’t be reached until 2040 – the PM is still holding up net zero by 2050 as an adequate response!
I get it that the PM’s team have an enormous amount on their plate. But this needs their urgent attention. Everything depends on a liveable biosphere – and the threat level is now severe, and mounting.
The VAT cut and investment in community energy are excellent news. But this is not a political negotiation in which a compromise can be struck with the climate. A 2050 pathway is now woefully inadequate and risks sending us to social and economic collapse.
Physics doesn’t care that it’s politically difficult to act given the polarisation deliberately whipped up by vested interests.
The evidence has changed dramatically since the UK adopted its NZ by 2050 aim. Just a few examples:
1️⃣ New science shows that we are much closer than previously thought to crossing irreversible tipping points like the shutdown of the AMOC ocean current and the dieback of the Amazon rainforest.
2️⃣ Some key climate impacts are arriving up to 25 years earlier than models predicted at the time the UK made its Net Zero by 2050 commitment.
3️⃣ Meanwhile global emissions have continued rising, meaning action now has to be much more urgent to compensate – CO₂ emissions are cumulative!
It’s essential that the government responds to this evolving threat picture.
The National Emergency Briefing experts stand ready to brief the PM and his team privately, including a viewing of the People’s Emergency Briefing film.
The threats are not distant. An exceptionally strong El Niño is now combining with fossil-fuel-driven warming, bringing elevated risk of record floods, droughts and extreme heat around the world. The Met Office says it increases the chances of wetter, stormier conditions in the UK this autumn and early winter. It also threatens harvests and risks adding further pressure to food prices.
The WMO says this exceptional event demands exceptional preparation. Where is the UK’s public preparedness plan? Its well established resilience stems from knowledge. Why is the government refusing to level with the public? The People’s Emergency Briefing is demonstrating that full transparency doesn’t cause people to hide under their duvets. On the contrary, treating people like adults lifts optimism and motivation to act.
If the coming months bring serious loss of property or life, people will rightly ask why they weren’t told and given the chance to take action.
Climate change is not merely “a major concern for many Britons”. It is an escalating physical threat to every Briton, whether or not they are currently concerned about it.
A Prime Minister would not describe a credible military threat as “a concern for many people”, as though its seriousness depended on public opinion. Nor would we expect them to position their self cautiously between those warning of the threat and those denying it.
There are not two sides to physics.
This is a moment for courage: to tell the country plainly what we face, how quickly the risks are escalating, and the enormous benefits of taking decisive action now.
Simon is the co-founder of the National Emergency Briefing. If you have not seen the film, yet, you can find details of showings HERE. It is so important to see it and to spread the word. The clock is ticking…
