There was a ground-breaking event in London this week, a first of its kind update on climate change called the National Emergency Briefing. Members of Parliament were invited to attend and many did, as a series of experts set out the state of the climate and the way that Britain will be affected.
The briefing was held right opposite the Houses of Parliament and chaired by Mike Berners-Lee, who warned that attendees would hear “difficult news and we’re going to face it together”. Presenters then focused on different aspects of climate in the UK, including the risk to food security, to wildlife and to the economy. Professor Hayley Fowler warned that one in four homes in England could be facing flood risk by 2050. Lieutenant General Richard Nugee presented the national security case, pointing out that “climate change can be thought of as a threat multiplier,” with extreme weather adding to global instability.
As you might expect, it was a sombre and downbeat affair, though hopefully useful in correcting the loss of urgency around political action on climate in recent months. With climate protest out of the headlines and an election some distance away, momentum had been dropping off. Climate and energy efficiency policies seem to be back on the table for cut-backs in every single budget season, which suggests the Labour government isn’t entirely committed. On the opposition benches, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives have turned their backs on a decade of modest success on climate and adopted a sceptic position. There’s a real need for a political reset on climate, and it was good to see a healthy number of politicians and decision makers in attendance.
What follows now is that the team will make a 45 minute documentary around the event’s key messages. They hope to get this shown to the general public, and there is a letter to media decision makers to ask them to screen it on major channels, should you wish to add your name.
I wasn’t able to attend the briefing myself, so I’ve been catching up later. Strangely enough the only full stream of the event that I can find online is the one from the climate-denial guff peddlers GB News, so this is the first and probably last time I’m going to link to their content. More footage will follow, and you can keep an eye on the official Youtube Channel for highlights.
The Earthbound Report 