- This is a triple emergency of climate change, environmental destruction and increasing inequality – each making the others worse.
- Declaring an emergency is tokenistic unless it leads to a scale up of investment and new action in response – and rolls back contradictory decisions.
Christian Aid has welcomed MPs voting to declare an environmental and climate emergency today.
Tom Viita, Head of UK Advocacy at Christian Aid said: “People living on the front line of climate change already know full well that we are facing a climate emergency. For the people of Mozambique facing the double shocks of Cylones Idai and Kenneth, the emergency is very real.
“Most of the people facing droughts, floods and rising sea levels, have not caused this climate emergency. What they need now is much more radical action from countries like the UK.
“MPs from all parties and the Government itself need to turn this declaration of climate emergency from warm words into tangible actions including a massive scale up of public investment, both in the UK and overseas, to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
“As an immediate first step, Parliament should demand that the Government set a new greenhouse gas target for net zero emissions by 2045 at the latest and bring forward new money and policies to deliver it.”
He added:
“Environmental degradation and climate change hit the world’s poorest first and hardest, but too many of the solutions offered do nothing to address the inequality and injustice that traps them in poverty. Christian Aid calls on all the UK’s parties to face the triple emergency of climate, environment and inequality.”
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