Widespread dissatisfaction with the state of British politics has doubtlessly contributed to the relative success of Reform. Instead of addressing that situation however, both Labour and the Tories have tried to win back voters by adopting policies that lean towards Reform ideology. Their biggest mistake has been to row back on policies aimed at addressing global warming, thereby failing with government’s most important duty, which is surely to protect the lives and wellbeing of citizens.
Kemi Badenoch has declared that achieving Net Zero by 2050 is impossible without a significant drop in our living standards and bankrupting us. Yet the CEO of the Confederation of Business Industry has stated that last year the Net Zero economy grew by 10 per cent and added £83bn to our national income.
What we cannot afford is to sideline action on global warming. The consequences of carrying on with fossil fuel business-as-usual would be devastating. We are already seeing increasingly severe weather patterns develop, with prolonged periods of flooding and drought for example, impacting the ability of farmers to produce our food. Longer term consequences include disasters like rising sea levels as ice caps melt. Arctic air temperatures are rising faster than the global average, and so the massive Greenland icesheet, for example, is particularly vulnerable to global warming. It is kilometres thick, covers 80 per cent of the island … and has been steadily melting for the past 27 years as global temperatures rise. It contains enough water to eventually raise global sea levels by seven metres. In the UK that would wipe out whole farming areas, including Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Talk about a drop in living standards …
While our contribution to climate change is much smaller than that of, say, China, we are responsible for a share of China’s emissions because so many of the things we buy are manufactured there.
China has identified the clean energy opportunities and installed more renewable energy generation last year than the rest of the world combined – eight times more than America and five times more than Europe. Renewable energy creates jobs, cleans polluted air, and lowers energy bills. That’s what we have to gain – and can’t afford to lose.
Ken Huggins
North Dorset Green Party
