Greta Thunberg Spoke to the Government. NOW Will the UK Act on Climate Change?
24 April 2019
I complain frequently that the media don’t focus on climate change. Perhaps readers and viewers really ARE more interested in the latest celebrity non-happening, I was again annoyed last weekend when there were huge protests in London’s city centre – the Extinction Rebellion action – which was great. And how did the media report it? Most focused on the “inconvenience” to traffic. The Mayor of London said the action was taking a “real toll” on the City’s police and businesses. Obviously he fails to realise the “real toll” that unchecked climate change will bring.
I was emailing back-and-forth with one of the people who joined the protest. She too was upset by the lack of coverage of the reasons why people were protesting. That’s what should have been covered, not the “inconvenience”. “You wouldn’t have even known there was a protest on walking around the rest of the city“, she added.
Greta Changed the Narrative
But then Greta Thunberg arrived. She spoke to the Extinction Rebellion protesters – and then she went to Westminster and spoke to MPs (politicians). She gave a wonderful speech with her trademark directness and simplicity – the main points are in the video below.
I’ve written before about Greta – I think she’s great! The Swedish 16-year-old wants action on climate because she knows she doesn’t have a future without it.
She was diagnosed with Asperger’s, on the autism spectrum. Perhaps that explains her remorseless focus. I know very few people who can express themselves as simply and clearly as her – even though English isn’t her first language. Even wily politicians can’t refute her arguments.
“This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind,” she told the MPs. “You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to.”
She told them that the UK’s
- new exploitation of fossil fuels with fracking,
- expansion of its North Sea oil and gas fields
- expansion of airports
- and plans for a brand new coalmine,
were “beyond absurd”
And of course, she’s right.
So will the UK act on climate now? Politicians looked abashed after her speech. Environment Secretary Michael Gove said “I recognise that we haven’t done nearly enough to address climate change and the broader environmental crisis that we helped to create”.
Greta listened attentively – but how many times has she heard similar comments before? She knows the words mean nothing. Nothing matters except actions to halt emissions.
There’s a test coming up…….
Will The UK Act on Climate Change?
On the 2nd of May, the UK’s climate change committee will announce the results of a review of the UK’s emissions targets. They are currently not ambitious enough Will the UK act on climate change by reducing emissions targets? We’ll see.
After Greta’s speech, it was announced that there would now be
- regular cross-party meetings on climate policy,
- consultations with youth climate activists,
- and an independent body to assess if party manifestos were in line with the Paris agreement.
That sounds like progress.
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Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download your free climate change report here!
