Despite Boris Johnson’s pledges, the UK is way off course on its path to net zero emissions. It’s Labour’s job to force the issue
• Matthew Pennycook is shadow minister for climate change
The coronavirus pandemic and the jobs crisis it has precipitated are rightly consuming our immediate attention. Meanwhile, the climate and environment emergency has not gone away. These intersecting crises demand urgent and coordinated action.
When it comes to averting catastrophic global heating, the science is unequivocal: bold action is required, and it is required now. As the UN has warned, limiting warming to 1.5C requires “far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” for which “the next few years are probably the most important in our history”.
