Something brilliant happened this week.
On Wednesday, more than 12,000 people travelled to London to take part in the Time is Now lobby of Parliament organised by members of The Climate Coalition and Greener UK. In total, more than 300 MPs from all parts of the UK received the message that the time is now to act to tackle the climate and ecological emergency.
The halls of parliament were packed while the roads leading up to and across Lambeth bridge were thick with people waiting for their MP to arrive (via rickshaw). It was an incredible show of civil society in action - urging their parliamentary representatives to do everything in their power act for the climate, for nature and for people, in the UK and globally. And it was great to see so many RSPB members turn up and use their voice to demand action.
All images courtesy of my colleague Ben Andrew rspb-images.com
So this noisy spring, stimulated by the incredible protests by #YouthStrike4Climate and Extinction Rebellion, has led to a summer of big conversations which in turn must now lead to substantial changes to public policy and funding reflecting our asks shown below.
I am confident that things have changed.
Declarations of a climate and ecological emergency have been made in governments (local and national) across UK. And that is significant for two reasons.
First, it means that any action a government takes in the future can be judged as to whether it does or does not address the emergency. It is why the Welsh Government was right to save the Gwent Levels and discard the proposed M4 Relief Road. Future decisions such as new runways, new roads or even new golf courses proposed on our finest wildlife sites like Coul Links will be judged as to whether they help or hinder our ability to tackle the emergency. Trust in any political party to tackle the environmental crisis is hard won but easily lost.
Second, by bringing together the twin crises affecting our planet, it means that politicians need to develop more joined up responses. It is no good taking action in one area if it exacerbates problems in another area. This has been something we have been seeking for nearly two decades especially when it comes to the much needed energy revolution to wean ourselves off fossil fuels. That revolution has to take place in harmony with nature and we have argued that it must influence the roll out of renewable energy technology on land and at sea. That's why I was delighted to welcome a new report by the Solar Trade Association this week outlining how solar farms can be managed for wildlife. This report is a great start and I challenged the industry continues to avoid sensitive sites and to maximise the benefits to wildlife.
This joined up approach also needs to guide future land use decisions influenced for example by our UK map of carbon and nature hotspots. This thinking must be reflected in proposed Environment and Agriculture Bills as well as future planning policy.
And there is growing willingness for development, humanitarian and environmental groups to work together to integrate environmental action into plans to tackle poverty and achieve social justice. As we head into 2020 when the sustainable development goals are reviewed, a new global deal for nature will be struck and the adequacy of climate action assessed, it is vital that we have a shared agenda for global leaders to embrace.
In the UK, I know that we need to get through the Brexit impasse before politicians can give the right amount of attention to these issues. But, Wednesday was a brilliant reminder that the protests are not going to go away, the call for action is only going to grow, so smart political parties would start competing for the best plan to tackle the emergency.
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Our message to MPs
The Time is Now to act for the climate, for nature and for people, in the UK and globally.
As our MP, we need you to do everything in your power to maximise action for our climate, nature and people, in the UK and globally. Please write to your party leadership or leadership contenders to give your full support to the following:
1. Legislate immediately to:
2. Scale up investment to tackle the climate and environmental emergency fairly and democratically: at a minimum, ensure spending of 2% of GDP per year for climate action and restoring nature both at home and abroad, starting now.
3. Put the environment and climate action at the heart of the UK’s international agenda: