Much can be said about the state of our politics at the moment, little of it good. Aside from Brexit and the increasingly polarised nature of political debate within political parties – and, more importantly, out in the country – my one big bugbear is just how reactionary much of our political discourse has become.
Whether it be knife crime, economic crises, or horrific events like the Grenfell Tower fire, far too often it takes a seismic event to catalyse any kind of meaningful move towards preventing such things from happening in the first place.
We wait for problems to become catastrophes before we take the action we could – and should – have taken years before. Now, hindsight is a wonderful thing but more often than not, there are many warning signs before such crisis points are reached when we simply fail to intervene. For me, the most pressing example of an issue which hasn’t yet reached such a tipping point is climate change. This, for me, is a problem which demands a radical response and is one which we quite simply cannot afford to allow to reach – or even near – its boiling point.
Of course, in the past 12 months alone we’ve seen visible examples of how climate change is having an impact on the UK even today. From the blisteringly hot summer of 2018, to the abnormally temperate spell in February, we cannot ignore the warning signs our climate is sending. Granted, south Wales feeling like southern Spain for most of the summer is a welcome change from the welly-worthy washouts we’re used to much of the time, but I fear it will result in a very heavy price in the future.
It’s important to note that these changes might seem relatively insignificant in global terms, but Western Europe is predicted to be among the least affected regions under any future climate scenario. The effects already being felt by many – often developing – countries around the world are far more marked and will likely continue to be so in the future.
I was heartened to see so many young people taking part in the Youth Strike 4 Climate last month. Theresa May’s utterly ridiculous condemnation of the striking school pupils was as deeply flawed as her 2017 General Election campaign. Had this arisen when I was at school, I know I would have gotten far more out of striking about the greatest global threat we face than one Friday afternoon in the classroom. I was pleased to see that such criticism didn’t flow from the environment secretary, Michael Gove, who suggested others should “listen and respect the fact people feel so strongly”. He also did not prevent his daughter from skipping school to join the strike.
Sadly, though warm words are too often just that: warm words.
I see little to no meaningful action from the government at the moment. International action will, of course, be essential but the UK should be leading by example. Our country was once a proud leader on climate action, with the UK becoming the first country in the world to set legally-binding carbon budgets in the Climate Change Act (2008). Sadly though, I now fear that, in a similar way to Brexit, we are rapidly becoming a reluctant follower, rather than a leader on the international stage.
I – like half of the world apparently – have been pleased to see emerging international voices such as congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, shaking up the climate debate in the USA recently with calls for a “Green New Deal”. Since AOC entered office, we’ve seen left wing movements across Europe echo these calls but sadly I fear too many of them are trying to lead us down the road of populism, which I do not believe is the way we are going to see change on this issue.
The fact is, while I believe we need to see major economic shifts to mitigate the effects of climate change, I predict those who seek to completely overthrow capitalism as a means to this end will ultimately fail. The reality is, we have to be pragmatic about the limitations of our political and economic system and, most importantly, make full use of the opportunities it gives us in the time we have available.
Of course, politicians want to be able to announce a policy and cut the ribbon on the result it produces. In the case of climate change, there are going to be no quick fixes which match the short Parliamentary terms we have. Indeed, this is the reason why I fear the current state of stagnation will continue. Put simply, none of the leaders of today will be properly held to account for the global impact their inaction on climate change will have.
Climate change requires our politicians to be bold and put mitigation at the heart of our economy and our politics without the promise of a pat on the back at the end of it. All government policies pitted against the “value for taxpayers” test must be coupled with a new “value for the planet” test. This shift needs to come and it needs to happen now.
Waiting for a cataclysmic event to happen will ultimately prove fatal because, if you think the Brexit cliff edge is worrying, the climate cliff edge is certainly the sequel none of us want to see.