A mountaintop forest is to be created near Loch Ness to reverse the loss of high-altitude woodlands across Scotland.

Trees for Life, a conservation charity, is establishing a 700-acre site of 100,000 trees at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, Highlands.

It is hoped the initiative will lead to the return of waist-high species known as montane plants, which would support mammals, birds and pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies.

Sweeping

Doug Gilbert, Trees for Life’s Dundreggan manager, said: “Montane woodlands are a vital part of Scotland’s precious Caledonian Forest but are often restored over only small areas if at all.

“To bring these special ‘wee trees’ back from the brink, and create habitats for the wildlife that depends on them, we need something bigger – and that’s what we’re setting out to achieve at Carn na Caorach.”

Montane species grow near mountain summits despite harsh conditions but have suffered from centuries of overgrazing from animals such as sheep and deer.

The site – Carn na Caorach, meaning sheep cairn – lies at 450 to 600 metres above sea level on Dundreggan’s north-eastern edge, with sweeping views over Glenmoriston and Glen Affric.

High-altitude

It is thought to have been an important place for grazing livestock for hundreds of years and is now home to wildlife such as golden eagles, ring ouzels and mountain hares.

Volunteers will begin the first phase of planting next spring – with trees including downy willow and dwarf birch on the higher ground, as well as Scots pine and juniper on the lower slopes.

Further planting will continue over the next few years and self-seeded saplings will also be able to thrive in the grazing-free site. High woodlands take longer to establish than those in sheltered locations, meaning the project has to be long-term.

It could take between 50 and 100 years before the forest is fully established – if grazing levels are kept low. Once complete, the charity believes the project will be the country’s largest planted area of rare high-altitude woodland.

This Author

Conor Riordan is a reporter with PA Scotland.

The UK government has added its voice to the widespread disappointment over the United Nations discussions on the climate crisis which ended in compromise and frustration.

Lengthy talks in Madrid ended on Sunday with polluters resisting calls to increase efforts to minimise global heating and negotiators delaying debate about rules for international carbon markets for another year.

The UK expressed its determination to “drive even more ambitious” pledges by the next conference – COP26 – which will be held in Glasgow in November.

Frustration

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “disappointed” by the final declaration, which cited an “urgent need” to cut greenhouses gases in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement.

But the outcome fell short of explicitly demanding countries to propose bolder emissions plans next year, in accordance with environmentalists and developing countries’ demands.

The UK thanked Chile’s efforts in the Cop25 talks but expressed its frustration at the result.

Ambitious

“Tackling climate change is one of the most urgent issues we face and we are extremely grateful for the tireless efforts of the Chilean Cop presidency to reach an agreement, in challenging circumstances in Madrid,” a UK Government spokesman said.

“It is disappointing talks did not move as far or as fast at the UK had hoped.

“There is still much more to do and we are determined to increase the momentum and drive even more ambitious climate action at next year’s talks in Glasgow.”

This Author

Sam Blewett is the political correspondent for PA. Image: John Englart. 
 

Extinction Rebellion UK were in Staffordshire last night buzzing around the Boris Johnson’s campaign bus and asking why his Conservative government has refused to answer questions about the climate and ecological emergency.

Eight people – five of them dressed as bees as part of our ‘Bee-yond Politics’ actions – blocked the Conservative battle bus, with three people glued to the bus at the JCB factory in Burton, Staffordshire. Despite heavy rainfall, Extinction Rebellion activists are asking: where has the government been hiding this #ClimateElection?

In this election campaign, the Conservative and the Brexit Party have been equally absent from the climate debate: refusing to meet with Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers sitting outside the Conservative HQs – now on their twenty-third day without food – and not attending climate hustings.

Vote

To date, Conservative parliamentary candidates have declined 70 invitations to attend climate hustings, including Boris Johnson avoiding the Channel 4 climate debate, and the Science Minister, Chris Skidmore, failing to show up in his constituency of Kingswood. 

James Moulding of Extinction Rebellion’s Political Circle, said: “So far during the general election campaign, the Conservatives have refused to engage in the climate debate.

“There is an evident theme taking place, with the prime minister repeatedly avoiding difficult conversations around this issue. We cannot allow the current governing party to continue to ignore the most pressing crisis of our time.”

An Extinction Rebellion press statement said: “Our current government is failing to meet both the current challenge of the ecological emergency and to prevent future disaster.

“Extinction Rebellion does not endorse candidates or parties, but we call out reckless inaction when we see it. The track record of the Conservative government speaks for itself, with Conservative MPs five times more likely to vote against climate action.

Emergency

“With the Government backtracking on climate-positive decisions such as cancelling fracking, and research showing that supporters of climate science denial donate predominantly to the Conservative Party and Tory politicians, we demand they answer voters questions about the most pressing issue of our time.”

Last week, Extinction Rebellion bees from around the UK managed to splat three party battle buses – The Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and the Brexit Party.

Extinction Rebellion said that campaigners have have struggled to find the Conservative bus – until now. It turns out any careful search by road has been in vain as the Prime Minister has been travelling the country in private jets, throwing our mission off course. 

And now, as Extinction Rebellion continues buzzing around the campaign trail in search of answers, the question remains: why have the party of government been hiding from this issue?

Bethany Mogie of Extinction Rebellion UK said: “No one can hide from the climate and ecological emergency forever.

Engage

“As towns in Yorkshire and the Midlands are devastated by flooding, and dangerous levels of air pollution in our cities remain a serious health risk, it is only right to ask the Conservative Party what their plan is to avert this disaster.

“If they are not willing to engage with this debate now then why should we expect them to if re-elected on Thursday?”

Extinction Rebellion UK has been urging all candidates to sign up to the Three Demands Bill and prove to the public that the climate and ecological emergency is the top priority this election during its campaign, 12 Days of Crisis.  More than 100 candidates have signed up so far – but only one is from the Conservative party.

The Extinction Rebellion press statement concluded: “Who forms the next government is critical to our chances of mitigating the worst effects of this emergency and building resilience for our communities.

“We are vulnerable to the effects of the crisis now. Whether it’s the threat of food shortages, overburdened public services or extreme weather, by the next election the climate and ecological emergency will be impossible to ignore. After nine years of burying their heads in the sand about the issue, we must make the Conservatives engage now.”

This Author

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Extinction Rebellion. 

Activist Greta Thunberg has criticised governments at the UN climate talks for avoiding taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In a speech at the COP25 talks in Madrid, Spain, the Swedish teenager, who inspired the worldwide school strikes for climate movement, said: “Our leaders are not behaving as if we are in an emergency.”

She said the science showed that, at the current rate of emissions, the world is set to use up the whole “carbon budget” – the amount of pollution that can be put into the atmosphere and still keep global warming to 1.5C – in eight years.

Loss

Countries previously committed to curbing global warming at “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5C in the Paris Agreement secured in 2015.

Governments meeting at the talks are now under pressure to take more ambitious action to cut greenhouse gases, which continue to rise, to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Greta warned that “even at 1C people are dying from the climate crisis” and the science showed that going beyond 1.5C risks destabilising the climate and hitting irreversible tipping points such as melting glaciers and permafrost.

She said: “Finding holistic solutions is what the COP should be all about, but instead it seems to have turned some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes and to avoid raising their ambition.

“Countries are finding clever ways around having to take real action, like double-counting emissions reductions, and moving emissions overseas, and walking back on their promises to increase ambitions, or refusing to pay for solutions or loss and damage.

“This has to stop.”

Budget

Greta, who sailed across the Atlantic to attend the talks in Chile, before having to sail back again because they were moved to Spain due to civil unrest in the South American country, has made a series of hard-hitting speeches at international events in the past year.

In her latest talk, she focused on the science and the “misleading” behaviour of politicians and big business.

She said countries which had committed to reducing their emissions to zero by a certain date, as the UK has done with its legally binding pledge for net-zero by 2050, appeared impressive at first glance.

But “this is not leading, this is misleading”, she said, warning that the targets did not include aviation and shipping, or the emissions created by goods made in other countries and imported – and did include “offsetting” emissions.

“Zero by 2050 means nothing if high emissions continue for even a few years. Then the remaining budget will be gone.”

We the people

She said real, drastic emissions cuts were needed, and carbon had to stay in the ground to keep temperature rises below 1.5C.

And she warned: “The biggest danger is not inaction; the real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR.”

She finished her speech on a more hopeful note, telling delegates: “In just three weeks we will enter a new decade, a decade that will define our future.

“Right now we are desperate for any sign of hope. There is hope – I’ve seen it – but it does not come from the governments or corporations, it comes from the people. The people who have been unaware are now starting to wake up.”

She said people have democracy – all the time, not just at elections – and that public opinion runs the free world.

The teenage activist, who began the climate strikes with a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, said: “Every great change in history comes from the people. We can start the change right now, we the people.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Extinction Rebellion UK were in Staffordshire last night buzzing around the Boris Johnson’s campaign bus and asking why his Conservative government has refused to answer questions about the climate and ecological emergency.

Eight people – five of them dressed as bees as part of our ‘Bee-yond Politics’ actions – blocked the Conservative battle bus, with three people glued to the bus at the JCB factory in Burton, Staffordshire. Despite heavy rainfall, Extinction Rebellion activists are asking: where has the government been hiding this #ClimateElection?

In this election campaign, the Conservative and the Brexit Party have been equally absent from the climate debate: refusing to meet with Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers sitting outside the Conservative HQs – now on their twenty-third day without food – and not attending climate hustings.

Vote

To date, Conservative parliamentary candidates have declined 70 invitations to attend climate hustings, including Boris Johnson avoiding the Channel 4 climate debate, and the Science Minister, Chris Skidmore, failing to show up in his constituency of Kingswood. 

James Moulding of Extinction Rebellion’s Political Circle, said: “So far during the general election campaign, the Conservatives have refused to engage in the climate debate.

“There is an evident theme taking place, with the prime minister repeatedly avoiding difficult conversations around this issue. We cannot allow the current governing party to continue to ignore the most pressing crisis of our time.”

An Extinction Rebellion press statement said: “Our current government is failing to meet both the current challenge of the ecological emergency and to prevent future disaster.

“Extinction Rebellion does not endorse candidates or parties, but we call out reckless inaction when we see it. The track record of the Conservative government speaks for itself, with Conservative MPs five times more likely to vote against climate action.

Emergency

“With the Government backtracking on climate-positive decisions such as cancelling fracking, and research showing that supporters of climate science denial donate predominantly to the Conservative Party and Tory politicians, we demand they answer voters questions about the most pressing issue of our time.”

Last week, Extinction Rebellion bees from around the UK managed to splat three party battle buses – The Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and the Brexit Party.

Extinction Rebellion said that campaigners have have struggled to find the Conservative bus – until now. It turns out any careful search by road has been in vain as the Prime Minister has been travelling the country in private jets, throwing our mission off course. 

And now, as Extinction Rebellion continues buzzing around the campaign trail in search of answers, the question remains: why have the party of government been hiding from this issue?

Bethany Mogie of Extinction Rebellion UK said: “No one can hide from the climate and ecological emergency forever.

Engage

“As towns in Yorkshire and the Midlands are devastated by flooding, and dangerous levels of air pollution in our cities remain a serious health risk, it is only right to ask the Conservative Party what their plan is to avert this disaster.

“If they are not willing to engage with this debate now then why should we expect them to if re-elected on Thursday?”

Extinction Rebellion UK has been urging all candidates to sign up to the Three Demands Bill and prove to the public that the climate and ecological emergency is the top priority this election during its campaign, 12 Days of Crisis.  More than 100 candidates have signed up so far – but only one is from the Conservative party.

The Extinction Rebellion press statement concluded: “Who forms the next government is critical to our chances of mitigating the worst effects of this emergency and building resilience for our communities.

“We are vulnerable to the effects of the crisis now. Whether it’s the threat of food shortages, overburdened public services or extreme weather, by the next election the climate and ecological emergency will be impossible to ignore. After nine years of burying their heads in the sand about the issue, we must make the Conservatives engage now.”

This Author

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Extinction Rebellion. 

Activist Greta Thunberg has criticised governments at the UN climate talks for avoiding taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In a speech at the COP25 talks in Madrid, Spain, the Swedish teenager, who inspired the worldwide school strikes for climate movement, said: “Our leaders are not behaving as if we are in an emergency.”

She said the science showed that, at the current rate of emissions, the world is set to use up the whole “carbon budget” – the amount of pollution that can be put into the atmosphere and still keep global warming to 1.5C – in eight years.

Loss

Countries previously committed to curbing global warming at “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5C in the Paris Agreement secured in 2015.

Governments meeting at the talks are now under pressure to take more ambitious action to cut greenhouse gases, which continue to rise, to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Greta warned that “even at 1C people are dying from the climate crisis” and the science showed that going beyond 1.5C risks destabilising the climate and hitting irreversible tipping points such as melting glaciers and permafrost.

She said: “Finding holistic solutions is what the COP should be all about, but instead it seems to have turned some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes and to avoid raising their ambition.

“Countries are finding clever ways around having to take real action, like double-counting emissions reductions, and moving emissions overseas, and walking back on their promises to increase ambitions, or refusing to pay for solutions or loss and damage.

“This has to stop.”

Budget

Greta, who sailed across the Atlantic to attend the talks in Chile, before having to sail back again because they were moved to Spain due to civil unrest in the South American country, has made a series of hard-hitting speeches at international events in the past year.

In her latest talk, she focused on the science and the “misleading” behaviour of politicians and big business.

She said countries which had committed to reducing their emissions to zero by a certain date, as the UK has done with its legally binding pledge for net-zero by 2050, appeared impressive at first glance.

But “this is not leading, this is misleading”, she said, warning that the targets did not include aviation and shipping, or the emissions created by goods made in other countries and imported – and did include “offsetting” emissions.

“Zero by 2050 means nothing if high emissions continue for even a few years. Then the remaining budget will be gone.”

We the people

She said real, drastic emissions cuts were needed, and carbon had to stay in the ground to keep temperature rises below 1.5C.

And she warned: “The biggest danger is not inaction; the real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR.”

She finished her speech on a more hopeful note, telling delegates: “In just three weeks we will enter a new decade, a decade that will define our future.

“Right now we are desperate for any sign of hope. There is hope – I’ve seen it – but it does not come from the governments or corporations, it comes from the people. The people who have been unaware are now starting to wake up.”

She said people have democracy – all the time, not just at elections – and that public opinion runs the free world.

The teenage activist, who began the climate strikes with a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, said: “Every great change in history comes from the people. We can start the change right now, we the people.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Extinction Rebellion UK were in Staffordshire last night buzzing around the Boris Johnson’s campaign bus and asking why his Conservative government has refused to answer questions about the climate and ecological emergency.

Eight people – five of them dressed as bees as part of our ‘Bee-yond Politics’ actions – blocked the Conservative battle bus, with three people glued to the bus at the JCB factory in Burton, Staffordshire. Despite heavy rainfall, Extinction Rebellion activists are asking: where has the government been hiding this #ClimateElection?

In this election campaign, the Conservative and the Brexit Party have been equally absent from the climate debate: refusing to meet with Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers sitting outside the Conservative HQs – now on their twenty-third day without food – and not attending climate hustings.

Vote

To date, Conservative parliamentary candidates have declined 70 invitations to attend climate hustings, including Boris Johnson avoiding the Channel 4 climate debate, and the Science Minister, Chris Skidmore, failing to show up in his constituency of Kingswood. 

James Moulding of Extinction Rebellion’s Political Circle, said: “So far during the general election campaign, the Conservatives have refused to engage in the climate debate.

“There is an evident theme taking place, with the prime minister repeatedly avoiding difficult conversations around this issue. We cannot allow the current governing party to continue to ignore the most pressing crisis of our time.”

An Extinction Rebellion press statement said: “Our current government is failing to meet both the current challenge of the ecological emergency and to prevent future disaster.

“Extinction Rebellion does not endorse candidates or parties, but we call out reckless inaction when we see it. The track record of the Conservative government speaks for itself, with Conservative MPs five times more likely to vote against climate action.

Emergency

“With the Government backtracking on climate-positive decisions such as cancelling fracking, and research showing that supporters of climate science denial donate predominantly to the Conservative Party and Tory politicians, we demand they answer voters questions about the most pressing issue of our time.”

Last week, Extinction Rebellion bees from around the UK managed to splat three party battle buses – The Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and the Brexit Party.

Extinction Rebellion said that campaigners have have struggled to find the Conservative bus – until now. It turns out any careful search by road has been in vain as the Prime Minister has been travelling the country in private jets, throwing our mission off course. 

And now, as Extinction Rebellion continues buzzing around the campaign trail in search of answers, the question remains: why have the party of government been hiding from this issue?

Bethany Mogie of Extinction Rebellion UK said: “No one can hide from the climate and ecological emergency forever.

Engage

“As towns in Yorkshire and the Midlands are devastated by flooding, and dangerous levels of air pollution in our cities remain a serious health risk, it is only right to ask the Conservative Party what their plan is to avert this disaster.

“If they are not willing to engage with this debate now then why should we expect them to if re-elected on Thursday?”

Extinction Rebellion UK has been urging all candidates to sign up to the Three Demands Bill and prove to the public that the climate and ecological emergency is the top priority this election during its campaign, 12 Days of Crisis.  More than 100 candidates have signed up so far – but only one is from the Conservative party.

The Extinction Rebellion press statement concluded: “Who forms the next government is critical to our chances of mitigating the worst effects of this emergency and building resilience for our communities.

“We are vulnerable to the effects of the crisis now. Whether it’s the threat of food shortages, overburdened public services or extreme weather, by the next election the climate and ecological emergency will be impossible to ignore. After nine years of burying their heads in the sand about the issue, we must make the Conservatives engage now.”

This Author

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Extinction Rebellion. 

Activist Greta Thunberg has criticised governments at the UN climate talks for avoiding taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In a speech at the COP25 talks in Madrid, Spain, the Swedish teenager, who inspired the worldwide school strikes for climate movement, said: “Our leaders are not behaving as if we are in an emergency.”

She said the science showed that, at the current rate of emissions, the world is set to use up the whole “carbon budget” – the amount of pollution that can be put into the atmosphere and still keep global warming to 1.5C – in eight years.

Loss

Countries previously committed to curbing global warming at “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5C in the Paris Agreement secured in 2015.

Governments meeting at the talks are now under pressure to take more ambitious action to cut greenhouse gases, which continue to rise, to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Greta warned that “even at 1C people are dying from the climate crisis” and the science showed that going beyond 1.5C risks destabilising the climate and hitting irreversible tipping points such as melting glaciers and permafrost.

She said: “Finding holistic solutions is what the COP should be all about, but instead it seems to have turned some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes and to avoid raising their ambition.

“Countries are finding clever ways around having to take real action, like double-counting emissions reductions, and moving emissions overseas, and walking back on their promises to increase ambitions, or refusing to pay for solutions or loss and damage.

“This has to stop.”

Budget

Greta, who sailed across the Atlantic to attend the talks in Chile, before having to sail back again because they were moved to Spain due to civil unrest in the South American country, has made a series of hard-hitting speeches at international events in the past year.

In her latest talk, she focused on the science and the “misleading” behaviour of politicians and big business.

She said countries which had committed to reducing their emissions to zero by a certain date, as the UK has done with its legally binding pledge for net-zero by 2050, appeared impressive at first glance.

But “this is not leading, this is misleading”, she said, warning that the targets did not include aviation and shipping, or the emissions created by goods made in other countries and imported – and did include “offsetting” emissions.

“Zero by 2050 means nothing if high emissions continue for even a few years. Then the remaining budget will be gone.”

We the people

She said real, drastic emissions cuts were needed, and carbon had to stay in the ground to keep temperature rises below 1.5C.

And she warned: “The biggest danger is not inaction; the real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR.”

She finished her speech on a more hopeful note, telling delegates: “In just three weeks we will enter a new decade, a decade that will define our future.

“Right now we are desperate for any sign of hope. There is hope – I’ve seen it – but it does not come from the governments or corporations, it comes from the people. The people who have been unaware are now starting to wake up.”

She said people have democracy – all the time, not just at elections – and that public opinion runs the free world.

The teenage activist, who began the climate strikes with a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, said: “Every great change in history comes from the people. We can start the change right now, we the people.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.

Extinction Rebellion UK were in Staffordshire last night buzzing around the Boris Johnson’s campaign bus and asking why his Conservative government has refused to answer questions about the climate and ecological emergency.

Eight people – five of them dressed as bees as part of our ‘Bee-yond Politics’ actions – blocked the Conservative battle bus, with three people glued to the bus at the JCB factory in Burton, Staffordshire. Despite heavy rainfall, Extinction Rebellion activists are asking: where has the government been hiding this #ClimateElection?

In this election campaign, the Conservative and the Brexit Party have been equally absent from the climate debate: refusing to meet with Extinction Rebellion hunger strikers sitting outside the Conservative HQs – now on their twenty-third day without food – and not attending climate hustings.

Vote

To date, Conservative parliamentary candidates have declined 70 invitations to attend climate hustings, including Boris Johnson avoiding the Channel 4 climate debate, and the Science Minister, Chris Skidmore, failing to show up in his constituency of Kingswood. 

James Moulding of Extinction Rebellion’s Political Circle, said: “So far during the general election campaign, the Conservatives have refused to engage in the climate debate.

“There is an evident theme taking place, with the prime minister repeatedly avoiding difficult conversations around this issue. We cannot allow the current governing party to continue to ignore the most pressing crisis of our time.”

An Extinction Rebellion press statement said: “Our current government is failing to meet both the current challenge of the ecological emergency and to prevent future disaster.

“Extinction Rebellion does not endorse candidates or parties, but we call out reckless inaction when we see it. The track record of the Conservative government speaks for itself, with Conservative MPs five times more likely to vote against climate action.

Emergency

“With the Government backtracking on climate-positive decisions such as cancelling fracking, and research showing that supporters of climate science denial donate predominantly to the Conservative Party and Tory politicians, we demand they answer voters questions about the most pressing issue of our time.”

Last week, Extinction Rebellion bees from around the UK managed to splat three party battle buses – The Liberal Democrats, the Labour Party and the Brexit Party.

Extinction Rebellion said that campaigners have have struggled to find the Conservative bus – until now. It turns out any careful search by road has been in vain as the Prime Minister has been travelling the country in private jets, throwing our mission off course. 

And now, as Extinction Rebellion continues buzzing around the campaign trail in search of answers, the question remains: why have the party of government been hiding from this issue?

Bethany Mogie of Extinction Rebellion UK said: “No one can hide from the climate and ecological emergency forever.

Engage

“As towns in Yorkshire and the Midlands are devastated by flooding, and dangerous levels of air pollution in our cities remain a serious health risk, it is only right to ask the Conservative Party what their plan is to avert this disaster.

“If they are not willing to engage with this debate now then why should we expect them to if re-elected on Thursday?”

Extinction Rebellion UK has been urging all candidates to sign up to the Three Demands Bill and prove to the public that the climate and ecological emergency is the top priority this election during its campaign, 12 Days of Crisis.  More than 100 candidates have signed up so far – but only one is from the Conservative party.

The Extinction Rebellion press statement concluded: “Who forms the next government is critical to our chances of mitigating the worst effects of this emergency and building resilience for our communities.

“We are vulnerable to the effects of the crisis now. Whether it’s the threat of food shortages, overburdened public services or extreme weather, by the next election the climate and ecological emergency will be impossible to ignore. After nine years of burying their heads in the sand about the issue, we must make the Conservatives engage now.”

This Author

Brendan Montague is editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Extinction Rebellion. 

Activist Greta Thunberg has criticised governments at the UN climate talks for avoiding taking action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In a speech at the COP25 talks in Madrid, Spain, the Swedish teenager, who inspired the worldwide school strikes for climate movement, said: “Our leaders are not behaving as if we are in an emergency.”

She said the science showed that, at the current rate of emissions, the world is set to use up the whole “carbon budget” – the amount of pollution that can be put into the atmosphere and still keep global warming to 1.5C – in eight years.

Loss

Countries previously committed to curbing global warming at “well below” 2C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5C in the Paris Agreement secured in 2015.

Governments meeting at the talks are now under pressure to take more ambitious action to cut greenhouse gases, which continue to rise, to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Greta warned that “even at 1C people are dying from the climate crisis” and the science showed that going beyond 1.5C risks destabilising the climate and hitting irreversible tipping points such as melting glaciers and permafrost.

She said: “Finding holistic solutions is what the COP should be all about, but instead it seems to have turned some kind of opportunity for countries to negotiate loopholes and to avoid raising their ambition.

“Countries are finding clever ways around having to take real action, like double-counting emissions reductions, and moving emissions overseas, and walking back on their promises to increase ambitions, or refusing to pay for solutions or loss and damage.

“This has to stop.”

Budget

Greta, who sailed across the Atlantic to attend the talks in Chile, before having to sail back again because they were moved to Spain due to civil unrest in the South American country, has made a series of hard-hitting speeches at international events in the past year.

In her latest talk, she focused on the science and the “misleading” behaviour of politicians and big business.

She said countries which had committed to reducing their emissions to zero by a certain date, as the UK has done with its legally binding pledge for net-zero by 2050, appeared impressive at first glance.

But “this is not leading, this is misleading”, she said, warning that the targets did not include aviation and shipping, or the emissions created by goods made in other countries and imported – and did include “offsetting” emissions.

“Zero by 2050 means nothing if high emissions continue for even a few years. Then the remaining budget will be gone.”

We the people

She said real, drastic emissions cuts were needed, and carbon had to stay in the ground to keep temperature rises below 1.5C.

And she warned: “The biggest danger is not inaction; the real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR.”

She finished her speech on a more hopeful note, telling delegates: “In just three weeks we will enter a new decade, a decade that will define our future.

“Right now we are desperate for any sign of hope. There is hope – I’ve seen it – but it does not come from the governments or corporations, it comes from the people. The people who have been unaware are now starting to wake up.”

She said people have democracy – all the time, not just at elections – and that public opinion runs the free world.

The teenage activist, who began the climate strikes with a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, said: “Every great change in history comes from the people. We can start the change right now, we the people.”

This Author

Emily Beament is the PA environment correspondent.