Donning my hard hat, but here goes. I'm an ordinary mum, since having my DS I've been very concerned about the stark statistics on the climate emergency and what it means for my family's safety. I have no background in science, but have done my best to educate myself on this topic and try to note down statistics exactly as reported.
I recently went to a screening of the People's Emergency Briefing, a 45 minute film featuring Chris Packham, Jennifer Saunders and Deborah Meaden, as well as ordinary members of the public. It showed talks by a number of professors (from Oxford University, UCL, Newcastle and so on) and experts in their field. It was hard-hitting but I actually felt hopeful at the end and motivated to lobby my MP and county councillors, some of whom attended the same screening and took part in the discussion afterwards. Some have already replied to me with encouraging emails about their support for the issue, action they have taken to reduce our local emissions.
Experts are warning that current trajectories in our use of fossil fuels risk warming the planet by 3-4 degrees C by the end of this century. Nobody wants to hear this, but the UK would become uninhabitable. The temperature and weather changes that would result in the UK would mean we couldn't grow food in our soil.
Even keeping planetary warming to 2 degrees C would require a yearly reduction in emissions of 13%. The world is expected to cross the threshold of 1.5C global warming in the next 3-5 years. The UK has reduced its actual emissions (including international aviation and shipping, and imports and exports) by about 20% since 1990, or an average of 0.6% each year.
I really feel it's the public's right to be informed about the urgency of the situation and how tangible and possible the solutions are, if only the government realises how much support there is for these changes. Thinking about the climate emergency felt so hopeless before, but I actually feel a sense of possibility now.
I know not everyone will agree with me or want to discuss this, but I wanted to share some facts on the topic. I also think so many, if not all, of the major issues concerning voters today are fundamental linked to the climate emergency. As someone said in this film, "the physics doesn't care about politics". I think we all have a lot more in common than we realise. I thought we had more time to delay taking action, but it really is a national emergency. But the research has already been done effectively, the solutions are right there and they're not beyond our reach.
Voters:
81.5% of the British public said they were deeply concerned about climate impacts in 2026.
National security (expert - Lt General Richard Nugee): this was one I found most shocking
- climate change meaning farmers can no longer earn a living, means they are more likely to be recruited by "non state actors" as the Lt Gen says happened in Afghanistan and Iraq with ISIS
- the melting Arctic ice is a new potential for conflict. Apparently Russia is declaring it an "internal sea" whereas the UK is not alone in treating the Arctic as international waters. So a risk of conflict over access, resources and shipping routes.
- then there's the obvious impact on migration as places in the global south are hit harder and earlier by extreme weather events
Housing:
Up to 1 in 4 properties in the UK will be at risk of flooding by 2050.
Houses are continuing to be built today that won't withstand the more extreme weather (including heat, think of the 40 degrees reached in summer of 2022) that we will continue to experience
Cost of living:
Continued nature depletion in the next decade could significantly impact GDP, a decline of up to 12%. The 2008 financial crisis caused a decline in UK GDP of 6.3%.
The fossil fuels system wastes about 2/3 of its potential energy when it's used. The example given was if you put £18 of petrol in your car, you get £6 worth of energy from it to actually move its wheels.
Food security:
With the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the impact on international shipping and fertiliser prices, food prices are projected to increase by 50% by November. We need to be supporting British agriculture and making best use of the land we have available. Secondly, we have to support farmers in mitigating flooding and extreme heat and frosts.
Cost of Net Zero:
- £4 billion a year, paid back by 2041, represents 0.2% of GDP
- saves $12 trillion compared to staying on fossil fuels
- inflation would have been 7% lower if we had decarbonised the energy sector
- the total estimated cost of the UK transition to Net Zero is now 73% cheaper than thought (5 years ago)
- In the last decade, the cost of offshore wind energy production has dropped 50%. The cost of solar has dropped by 70%.
Points of Hope:
- electric vehicles were expected to have 20% of the market share by 2030. They have already reached that benchmark and are projected to have 40% market share by 2030.
- the UK has one fifth of the world's offshore wind capacity
This isn't everything but I wanted to start the conversation. I've joined a local branch of a national organisation pushing for action on the climate emergency. I've written to my MP and local county councillors, one of whom told me to set a weekly reminder and email my local representatives - she said parties at the moment don't know what they stand for and pressure from the public IS effective. I'm growing my own vegetables, joined my local nature group and hoping to start a seed swap.
Sorry for the length of this and if I've posted in the wrong place. I felt really hopeless and alone in the face of the climate emergency but I can see the momentum that's gathering and hope that this may reach someone who wasn't aware of some of the facts, who does want change and who gets some inspiration for how to make that change happen.