Words from
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report in August that starkly outlined the unprecedented changes we are now seeing to the Earth’s climate. Some of these changes are already irreversible and are having a devastating impact on both people and nature across the world. The report warned that under all emissions scenarios, both of the targets in the Paris Agreement – to keep the rise in global temperatures below 2C, and preferably 1.5C – will be broken this century unless huge cuts in carbon emissions take place. This catastrophic analysis has left many of us overwhelmed with fateful feelings of ‘climate doom’ – that nothing can be done. I believe we must turn this into a moment for hope, not fear. I was very struck by the recent BBC environmental series ‘The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet’, which celebrates the amazing ingenuity of people across the world to find solutions to the climate crisis. This sort of transformative action, at both a scientific and a policy level, is what will help to save our planet.
Mohammad Yasin, MP for Bedford and Kempston With less than three weeks to go until COP26, the upcoming UN climate change conference in Glasgow, green issues have never been more important.
In Bedford we already have a growing community of people who want to make a difference. I recently met a number of constituents at Green Earth Café, a wonderful vegan café situated in the town centre, in honour of Great Big Green Week. The GBGW campaign has centred around organising a nationwide week of events to raise awareness of the urgent need for climate action, calling on politicians to unite against climate change. The team in Bedford has been incredibly active, and it was excellent to speak with these constituents and the local Green Councillors on key issues and Labour’s green credentials. I am proud of Labour’s impactful green policies. We are committed to a Green Industrial Revolution with 1 million jobs in the UK to transform our industry and economy; a Green New Deal aiming to reduce the majority of our transmissions by 2030, with the costs of this green transition falling fairly; a National Transformation Fund of £400bn to ensure every Treasury investment is compatible with climate goals and targets; a net-zero carbon energy system within the 2030s; and an environmental bill with binding standards for decarbonisation and nature recovery. As we look forward to COP26, we must be clear on our green policies and ensure that we actively take leaps – not just steps – to truly address these issues. I believe that the Labour policies are clear, tangible and impactful, and Boris Johnson needs to follow suit. It is down to the Prime Minister to offer distinct policies and commit to putting real time and money towards climate finance. COP26 is watershed moment for humanity and I can only hope, party politics aside, that we can look back on this conference and be grateful that the UK truly seized the moment and helped save our planet’s future.
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