Most Britons believe that climate change will pose a bigger threat to the UK than Brexit in the future, according to a new survey released the day after Britain recorded its second-highest temperature on record.
Renewed fears about climate change in the UK were stoked yesterday after temperatures reached 38.1 ° C (100.6 ° F) in Cambridge. The hottest July day on record in the country, it fell just below the record of 38.5 ° C (101.3 ° F) set at Faversham in Kent in August 2003.
As Brexit and the UK’s impending collision course with a no-deal scenario continue to dominate the headlines, a new ComRes poll commissioned by Christian Aid revealed that 71% of the UK public ‘agreed that climate change would be more important than leaving the country. of the EU in the long term, ”reports The Guardian.
The report also showed that 60% of 2,072 people surveyed said the government was not doing enough to prioritize the climate crisis, prompting Laura Taylor, Christian Aid’s director of advocacy, to say that the British public is “ waking up to the devastating effects of the climate emergency “despite major political upheavals.
However, questions undoubtedly remain about Johnson’s commitment, or even interest in the looming threat of climate change, and Reuters reported that the former foreign minister has a “mixed record on climate action.”
The news agency says that while he was mayor of London, Johnson reduced the size of the city’s restricted traffic zone, a move “against efforts to reduce carbon emissions and air pollution.”
However, his climate credentials were strengthened after he “encouraged cycling by launching a public bike rental program” and spoke out against the expansion of Heathrow Airport, although Reuters notes that he ultimately lost a key vote for lock the project.
During his time as foreign minister with Theresa May, Johnson was silent on the issue of climate change. However, on Wednesday he used his keynote address as prime minister to briefly mention the environment, saying that the UK is’ a world leader in battery technology that will help reduce CO2, tackle climate change and generate green jobs for the Next Generation”.
He also said in a statement this week that the UK aid budget would be used to combat climate change, but did not clarify further details and in his first speech to Parliament on Thursday reiterated his support for the net zero target. United Kingdom.
Taylor said it is “clear that beyond the current political turmoil, British adults know that there is a major crisis, which is potentially catastrophic for all of humanity,” adding that he hopes Johnson “will listen. The challenge of the majority of the British public ». do more to face this climate emergency ”.
Others believe that government action alone cannot solve the crisis. As the environmental news site Edie reports, the ComRes survey comes shortly after another survey by consultancy FleishmanHillard Fishburn (FHF), which “concluded that climate change is now among the top three issues that consumers expect. Large companies act, from 17th in 2018 ». .
The survey painted an even more overwhelming picture than the ComRes study, showing that 84% of the climate efforts disclosed by large companies in the UK were perceived as inappropriate by the 1,140 study participants.
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