London’s Burning – climate change is here

On the 19th July British temperature records were smashed and wildfires burst out across the country.  Here in the Hope Valley temperatures of 37oC were recorded, and a fire burnt on Win Hill that was still burning the following morning.  Climate change is here.  And if climate scientists were wrong about any of their predictions, it was in underestimating the speed of change.  The future is very worrying.

What can you do?  What can we do, together?

Clearly, we must adapt.  So that rails don’t buckle, roads melt, and buildings overheat.  But adaptation will not be enough if we continue to pump greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.  So decarbonisation of the economy and our lives is urgent.  (‘Net zero’ by 2050 is essential, but it is really what happens in the next few years that is critical.)

A previous blog suggested some high impact personal actions that you could take to reduce your own carbon footprint, but the necessary big changes will only happen when we act together.  This has to mean both local action as well as demanding of our political leaders that climate change be treated as the emergency it really is, requiring comprehensive changes to our economy of a sort that has not been seen for decades, if ever.

By joining with us at Hope Valley Climate Action you could become part of both local and national solutions.  We have action groups working on travel and transport, energy generation and home energy use, and land use.  We are in regular communication with MPs, other elected politicians and policy makers about the changes we see as being essential.  You could help with any of these.

Start off by signing up to our newsletter, if you haven’t already.  The link to do so is on this website.  There you can read details of our monthly general meetings (always on the second Monday of the month at 7.30pm.) to which all are welcome.  And consider joining one of our action groups (or even starting another one!).  Working together we can make a difference.

We are facing a climate emergency.  The time for action is now.

Jeremy Wight, HVCA Chair.  20th July 2022

Reply from Sarah Dines MP

Dear Mr Wight,

Thank you for your email and apologies for the delay in my reply.

I am very appreciative of the contents of your email and I am aware that there has been a fair amount written in the media about the leadership contest and climate change priorities. I know that both candidates have reaffirmed their commitment to the Net Zero agenda and I do not believe they are under any illusion that significant steps are still needed to ensure we meet this statutory commitment.

I will keep your concerns in mind when I am deliberating on who to support, and I am grateful for the time you have taken to make me aware of your concerns.

Kind regards,

Sarah

Sarah Dines

Member of Parliament for Derbyshire Dales
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA
Tel: 0207 219 5661 – sarah.dines.mp@parliament.uk 

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One Response

  1. So glad to be a part of the change! Agency is now the order of the day! Thank you for all your hard work.