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Former Defra minister tried to block the Environment Agency’s release of sewage data.
8 August 2024
Over 50 of the major green groups are calling on Andy Burnham to be clear on the cause of the UK’s extreme heat summer crisis, saying the prime minister ‘continues to dodge the issue of climate change’.
This comes after the prime minister failed to say the words ‘climate change’ in his remarks after the recent COBRA meeting on extreme heat.
In a letter to the prime minister, Greenpeace, WWF, Green New Deal Rising, the Women’s Institute, Uplift and Friends of the Earth joined other organisations in saying the British public deserves leadership that speaks honestly about the nature and complexity of the challenges the country faces this year, and in the years to come.
They urge him to recognise that climate change is behind the current devastation, adding that means publicly recognising the scale of the crisis, naming its cause and using his position to tackle this grave threat to our lives and livelihoods now and the lives of our children and grandchildren in the future.
‘It is clear that the root cause of the heatwaves, wildfires and droughts which are devastating the UK is climate change. Nearly three-quarters of the country is in drought, there have been over a thousand wildfires to date, the whole of England is under a health warning and a sixth heatwave is on the way later this month. Heartbreakingly, this is after the sweltering heat has already killed thousands this summer. This is also a horrific economic burden in terms of dealing with wildfires, ruined crops and fears that food bills are set to rocket.’
ROBERT PALMER
Deputy director of Uplift
The letter was coordinated by Hannah Martin, co-director of Green New Deal Rising. She said: ’Since becoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham has not uttered the words ‘climate change.’ It’s barely believable as wildfires sweep the nation and drought sweeps across the country. If you can’t name the problem, how will the British public trust you to come up with the solution? As Mayor of Greater Manchester he was clear that ‘there should be no turning away from net-zero.’ Where is his leadership on this issue now?’
‘This is the hottest summer on record and every summer from now is likely to be hotter still’, Hannah added. ‘It’s time for him to build trust with the public and say it like it is. This Government need to commit publicly to rapidly accelerating our move away from fossil fuels including saying no to new oil and gas projects like Jackdaw and Rosebank, and instead continue to ramp up investment in clean power and the industries of the future like wind, solar, green building technology and public transport as well as making sure our communities are equipped to adapt to the changing climate.’
Robert Palmer, deputy director of Uplift, noted that Andy Burnham has a track record of talking about the importance of tackling climate change and said it’s vital, now he is prime minister, that he ‘links the fires, droughts and heatwaves that the country is currently suffering to the danger of climate change and shares a credible plan for what his government is going to do.’
‘He must take urgent steps to deal with the problem, including stopping major new oil and gas drilling such as the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields’, Robert said. ‘Scientists could not be clearer that more drilling will wreck our planet and perpetuate this extreme weather. The Prime Minister needs to look out of the window and protect the country.’
‘While he was mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham made much of his green credentials, now as Prime Minister, he has the chance to prove to the country he is a man of principle.
‘The clearest way for him to do that is to come out and say he will not allow the development of the super-emitting Rosebank oil field. He should also stick to what the electorate voted for and that is for no new oilfields. If he doesn’t, he will lose the support of many in the country and rightly so as the UK battles unprecedented extreme heat.’
SUZI SHINGLER
Stop Rosebank campaigner
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