Why is climate change not a bigger election issue?

[ChedderGorgeous]

Forget tax on private schools, it is going to be 43 degrees in Athens today, over 40 on Greek Islands in last week: huge risk of wildfires. The UK regularly floods due to unnaturally high rainfall , which gives water companies the excuse to pump raw rewage into rivers and beaches. Where is Starmer on this one ? Too busy smashing the gangs ?

There’s a very easy solution to your worries.

The birth rate in UK is well below replacement level and has been for since late 70s - increase in population numbers is longer lifespan and immigration.

In fact world wide most countries are below the replacement level for births - the exception being one area sub-Saharan Africa and most of the argument around final peak population vary due to disagreements at how soon their birth rates will fall. Mostly though the peak looks like it will be lower and quicker than once fare due to quicker declines in fertility rates.

https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/lancet-dramatic-declines-global-fertility-rates-set-transform#:~:text=The%20global%20TFR%20has%20more,per%20female%20as%20of%202021.

Lol

This

I agree with the above. I'm fully aware that the UK effectively "exports" carbon emissions because a lot of what we consume here gets manufactured elsewhere, and if there was a serious political party which had a proper plan to stop this, I'd be all ears. I want to do my bit.

I say "serious" political party because it seems that the Greens are now a repository for fringe Leftists. I know a few such types; they were in Militant, then the SWP, then rejoined Labour under Corbyn, then couldn't rejoin the SWP because it had collapsed after a sexual assault by a leading official was covered up in the interests of party unity. Those people are consistent with their views and entitled to express them, but their primary interest is not the environment and they aren't helping the Green movement.

I don't know - https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/jun/12/the-grab-documentary-review

There isn’t a crisis in terms of people not having children. Not in the UK there isn’t. The number of childfree women aged 45 and over ( tbh I think this should be raised to age 50 or 51 now) had remained consistent at around the 19-20%. mark.
You would think it would be higher than that if we were experiencing any sort of ‘crisis.’
Don’t forget there are far more women of childbearing age living than there were say 50 or 60 years ago. So it would take a huge increase in numbers to have a significant effect.
Add to this the indisputable fact that people are living longer and you have a far bigger population.
We do not need more people in any way, shape or form.
You can bang on about the ‘right type of person’ but the fact remains. The UK is not underpopulated.

I was pointing out people are and in UK have been having fewer kids for a substantially period of time - all of my life and I'm late 40s- in response to a poster saying people should have fewer kids.

Having fewer kids comes with issue - an ageing population presents challenges- I didn't say it was a "crisis".

This year or next it is precited there will be more UK deaths than births - but the population will continue to grow due to immigration.

That is not moaning about wrong kind of people it's a fact - it is literally what is happening - personally I think it's more desirable than not as we'll need more tax payer for older population bulge and then tend to come in at working age so we avoid dependent years of childhood.

It's not just fertility rates dropping - the actual numbers are as well it's why there going to a surplus of school place - not yet but heading to primary school with corresponding funding implications but again while it's overall dropping it's variable how bad an area is hit.

I agree the ONS figures show roughly the same % of women at 45 being child free but they also show family size has fallen - so number of kids a woman by 45 has has dropped.

I also think the emphasis on kids helps many avoid the consumption issue - more disposal income often lead to more flights and more consumer heavy behavior.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/2/13/21132013/climate-change-children-kids-anti-natalism

https://livesustainablynow.com/2017/07/14/no-having-one-child-does-not-add-60-tons-per-year-to-your-carbon-footprint/

There been a lot in media about falling birth rate not just in UK or even Europe Asia and even world wide - it happening - as it's liked to better women education and access to contractive and work it's a good thing and it's ongoing but it worked.

Yes we still have older population bulges to work though but the corner has been turned and surprisingly rapidly in many countries.

My children are young adults now, so it's a bit late to send them back, but if I was making the decision now whether to have children, I honestly don't know if I would.

I am so thrilled that I had one child, a last shot at the pot. It has been the great joy of my life, since I was 43. I haven't trashed the planet, I look after our health assiduously. But I doubt I shall ever be a grandmother, and not because DC is gay. Just because Gen Z's view of the future seems so bleak.

There's a couple of good policies in there (short-haul flight ban and frequent flier levy) but they will struggle to decarbonise the grid if they phase out nuclear power.

As for scrapping Trident - that's suicidal so long as Putin lives, and probably beyond.

Rent controls have failed everywhere they've been tried.

Otherwise it just looks like a Liz Truss-esque spendathon.

Yes, she should buy a bicycle. Far fewer raw materials than a car (of any type) and no tailpipe emissions. It's a really cheap way of getting around too.

I was thinking more taking her kids out of private school.

Private schools don't harm the planet. Cars do (even electric cars, though not as badly as petrol ones). I'd sooner my kids were well-educated than enjoyed the small amount of convenience a car offers.

Bcs I don't fucking care about climate.
We had ice age and no humans around.
I am sure earth will survive.

Too few people give a shit. And too many don't believe.

I'm so thankful i don't leave many relatives behind when i go.

Spoken like a true city-dweller...

I've never lived in a city in my life.

The UK has less than 1 percent effect on climate change. Whatever we do will make little difference. Farage has pointed out we close down our own steel works to avoid pollution but we still need steel so we import it. The pollution just takes place in a different country plus we pollute more by importing.

I think we have to prepare for the impact of climate change, even if we can't stop it so it should still be a big issue.

What are we doing about more extreme weather events, what are we doing about food security energy security, how are we planning for potential mass migration.

I also think there's something to be said about leading the way technology wise as that's great for the economy too.

This is misinformation. It is not really about pollution.

The closure of UK steelworks is due to its foreign owners not investing in electric arc furnaces to decarbonise the plant. The technological investment for heavy industry has largely gone overseas. The UK is seen by foreign interests as a place to asset strip rather than invest in.

Nigel Farage, through driving Brexit, has played a key role in making asset stripping easier and driving away investment opportunities.

My DH is a professor in climate change and was actually very impressed with the Labour manifesto. He said there was a lot of detail on climate change and adapting to climate change.
Have you actually read it or are you just assuming there's not much because it's not been mentioned in the press a great deal?

If we no longer do dirty polutting industries they do go overseas but because we still want the product we import it. The country who does manufacture it just does the pollution instead of us.

Cars do not offer a “small” amount of convenience. They are entirely necessary for many people.

Other than the mining and recycling aspect with electric cars

i live in an area with lots of private schools. As they attract children from a large area there’s more congestion outside them due to the bigger commutes people do to use them.