All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment

13 Nov 2024

From beavers and bison to bats and plants, last week we held a parliamentary showcase of remarkable UK wildlife🦇🌿 The showcase connected parliamentarians with nature organisations to discuss the action needed to protect species, restore habitats & support nature’s recovery🌍

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Parliament last month for the launch of our climate resilience report and the Adaptation Task Force’s essay collection. It was great to bring people together to discuss how the UK can better prepare for the impacts of climate change.

environmentappg.co.ukIs the UK prepared? Resilience in floods, fires and food as climate impacts rise | Publications | Environment APPG

📚 Read the publications below 🌍 Environment APPG report: environmentappg.co.uk/publications... 🌱 Adaptation Task Force essay collection: green-alliance.org.uk/publication/...

📢Chair re-elected for the Environment APPG 📢 We're delighted to announce @fleuranderson.bsky.social has been re-elected as our Chair! We’re excited that Fleur will continue to lead our work and look forward to more progress on our campaigns!♻️🌍

Welcome back to @werahobhouse.org.uk, re-elected as a Vice Chair! Wera is the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and is a member of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee. She has an impressive track record of raising vital environmental issues in Parliament.

Happy to announce that @swdevonrebecca.bsky.social has been re-elected as a Vice Chair. Rebecca is the Conservative MP for South West Devon. She represents a mix of urban, coastal and rural communities that all value the natural world.

Green MP @adrianramsay.bsky.social elected as Vice Chair! Adrian represents Waveney Valley and is a vocal advocate for greater climate resilience. He will continue to push for high ambition solutions to the climate and nature crisis.

🌏Great to hear vice-chair @adrianramsay.bsky.social highlight the cascading risks of climate breakdown during his Westminster Hall debate.🔥 We need the government to take this threat seriously

bbc.co.ukHeatwaves drive A&E attendances up to record highMore than 2.4 million visits in each of last three months, as unions warn of inhumane conditions.

13 Aug

🌡️ Extreme heat is already placing immense pressure on patients, NHS staff and healthcare facilities 👩‍⚕️ We need urgent investment in climate resilience 🔆 This is about protecting lives, supporting frontline workers and ensuring critical services can withstand extreme weather

theguardian.comFrom grey water to cool spaces: 10 climate crisis policies Britain needs right nowRejecting North Sea drilling licences and protecting nature are just some measures Andy Burnham must implement to ready country

13 Aug

Great to see so much overlap with our adaptation report. 🌳 We hope these recommendations inspire actionable steps to improve resilience☀️🌡️

As we wait for the readout of the Cobra meeting, @fleuranderson.bsky.social has been on @news.sky.com calling for: 🌳More trees to reduce urban heat and protect areas from flooding 💧Delivering the nine new reservoirs the government has committed to ♨️A Cool Homes Plan to match the Warm Homes Plan

theguardian.comJust 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfiresExclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwaves

⛈️The UK is facing extreme heat, wildfires, and drought, raising serious questions about preparedness. 🔥 The Environment APPG adaptation report calls for this responsibility to be moved from Defra to the Cabinet Office.

@andyburnham.bsky.social has made the right choice to chair an urgent Cobra meeting on extreme heat. He should: 1. Move responsibility for climate resilience from Defra to the Cabinet Office 2. Assign responsibility for coordination to a Cabinet Minister 3. Establish an annual Cabinet meeting

environmentappg.co.ukIs the UK prepared? Resilience in floods, fires and food as climate impacts rise | Publications | Environment APPG

Read more here: environmentappg.co.uk/publications...

11 Aug

The Environment APPG welcomes the ministerial appointments of our former supporters @umakumaran.bsky.social and @pollybillington.bsky.social and look forward to following their contributions in government.

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news.sky.comMPs fear one key issue could end new PM's honeymoon periodThe "Burnham bounce" has largely been driven by Green voters coming back to the fold. Labour MPs warn that spells trouble if more oil and gas is approved following a summer of extreme weather.

10 Aug

Great to see our inquiry on climate resilience cited by @fleuranderson.bsky.social in this piece from @fayebrownjourno.bsky.social on @news.sky.com Even before this summer's wildfires, 81% of the UK public thought we are unprepared for the worst impacts of climate change. Voters want action.

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PoliticsHome

@politicshome.bsky.social

11 Aug

Over 70% of England is now in drought, affecting around 45 million people, it has been announced New @ipsosus.bsky.social research shared with PolHome last week found that public concern about climate change has increased since the start of the summer, rising from 69% to 74%

politicshome.comPublic Concern About Climate Change Rises After Summer Of Extreme HeatThere is growing public concern about climate change after weeks of wildfires and drought in the UK, according to polling shared with PoliticsHome.

10 Aug

30 July

Floods➡️heatwaves➡️droughts➡️fires Farmers are on the front line of fossil-fuelled climate change and people are paying the price Our inquiry found that the National Adaptation Programme has failed to tackle food resilience @thesoilassociation.bsky.social @linesmartin.bsky.social @nffn.bsky.social

30 July

Climate change is exacerbating the cost of living by increasing food prices In 2022-23, its impacts added £361 to the average household’s annual food bill (@eciu.net) Food imports from South Europe and North Africa are even more vulnerable We recommend:

29 July

Amber health alerts are in place again as parts of the UK enter a fourth heatwave. 2 in 5 deaths caused by heatwaves in May and June far this year can be linked to the additional heat from climate change. @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @metoffice.gov.uk @lshtm.bsky.social

29 July

Our report found that these risks are not equally shared. Those with existing health problems, on low incomes, and pregnant women are at greater risk. The UK is unprepared for extreme heat: hospitals have to cancel operations, schools have to shut, infrastructure buckles.

independent.co.ukUK preparing for wildfires similar to France and Spain, minister saysFires have wrought destruction in mainland Europe this week, with 220,000 forced out of their homes in southwest France and 116,000 evacuated in Spain

28 July

Wildfires are sweeping across Europe and more than 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. The UK is battling its own fires which threaten to get worse as we enter a fourth heatwave. This devastation is being fuelled by a destabilised climate.

28 July

Without action to reduce emissions and limit warming to 2 degrees, much of the UK will be overrun by wildfires by the end of the century: From the @thecccuk.bsky.social risk assessment:

environmentappg.co.ukIs the UK prepared? Resilience in floods, fires and food as climate impacts rise | Publications | Environment APPG

28 July

The new government must act to make the UK more resilient. Emergency preparedness must be matched by longer term measures to protect from fires, including restoring key habitats that store water and reduce the droughts that exacerbate wildfires. Read more in our new report:

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@adrianramsay.bsky.social

Climate resilience must be at the heart of the new government. Deadly heatwaves have followed record rain and flooding this year. Our inquiry found that the NHS, food system and homes are unprepared.🔥🌩️ Our report sets out priorities for Burnham to make the UK more secure:

All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment reposted

Adrian Ramsay

environmentappg.co.ukIs the UK prepared? Resilience in floods, fires and food as climate impacts rise | Publications | Environment APPG

Today we're launching the Environment APPG's report on climate resilience. Climate breakdown and ecosystem collapse are already among the greatest threats to public safety. We need a Cabinet Office Minister for Adaptation to drive cross-government action. environmentappg.co.uk/publications...

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Afzal Khan MP

@afzalkhanmcr.bsky.social

environmentappg.co.ukIs the UK prepared? Resilience in floods, fires and food as climate impacts rise | Publications | Environment APPG

The Environment APPG has released their report outlining what the PM's environmental priorities should be to make the UK more environmentally secure. Read the report below:

All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment@environmentappg.bsky.social

environmentappg.co.uk/publications...

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Pippa Heylings 🔶 MP for South Cambridgeshire

@pippaheylings.bsky.social

Extreme heat is back, and the UK was built for a climate that no longer exists. South Cambs could see summers 4°C hotter, with 6x more days above 30°C, and I've heard from families with overheated classrooms and sick elderly residents. I spoke up in Parliament to demand real climate resilience.

@swdevonrebecca.bsky.social

@umakumaran.bsky.social

@adrianramsay.bsky.social

@werahobhouse.org.uk

environmentappg.co.uk/publications...

environmentappg.co.ukIs the UK prepared? Resilience in floods, fires and food as climate impacts rise | Publications | Environment APPG

@fleuranderson.bsky.social

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Claire Young MP 🔶

@claireyoungmp.bsky.social

20 July

Many schools in our area closed over the recent heatwave. This was partly due to the fact we are unprepared for such hot summers. The Government needs to invest into proper air conditioning and more cool green space. I made the case to the Minister in a recent chamber exchange.

theguardian.comWildfires burn in Wales and England as environment officials warn of ‘exceptional risk’Major incidents declared in north Wales and Derbyshire, with firefighters also called out to two large fires in London

The wildfires raging across Wales and England have forced people from their homes and put communities at risk. ☀️🔥 Our inquiry found that climate impacts such as heatwaves, drought and wildfires are interconnected, exposing a dangerous lack of preparedness.

telegraph.co.uktelegraph.co.uk

☀️🚆The news that Eurostar is ordering trains designed to withstand temperatures of up to 55°C is a stark reminder that critical infrastructure, including transport systems, must be adapted to cope with warmer temperatures. ☀️🚆

theguardian.comMay and June heatwaves killed about 2,700 people in England and Wales, data suggestsExtreme heat led to 440 deaths a day during June peak, say scientists, with climate crisis ramping up temperatures

Shocking figures show 2,700 excess deaths were linked to the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales. Our adaptation inquiry heard how the UK remains unprepared for extreme heat and just how lifesaving access to cool spaces can be ☀️❄️

All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment reposted

Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment

@granthamicl.bsky.social

@adrianramsay.bsky.social

⚠️More than 2,700 excess deaths estimated in England and Wales during May and June heatwaves 🌡️ Climate change added between 3-4°C to maximum temperatures and is estimated to be responsible for about 42% of the deaths across both heatwaves 🧵

All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment reposted

Adrian Ramsay

2 July

Adapting to hotter temperatures is not solely about cooling. . We need our entire infrastructure to be fit for purpose. Last week, six NHS trusts declared a critical incident after hot weather damaged their IT systems, scanners, and cancer and lab equipment.

bbc.co.ukHeat failure: Why essential tech fails when the temperature risesEnergy grids and train services are among the vital services that are vulnerable to very hot weather.

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Adam Vaughan

@adamvaughan.bsky.social

2 July

The UK public's concern about climate change and support for renewable energy remain high, a long-running attitude tracker finds. Latest polling undertaken in March and April. www.gov.uk/government/s...

With the country currently in the grip of a heatwave and London Climate Action Week, the launch of @london.gov.uk City Hall’s Heat Ready London plan today comes at a timely moment. 🔥☀️ Our climate adaptation inquiry revealed that mayors can play a key role in tackling extreme heat.

politicshome.comThese heatwaves show leadership cannot mean stepping back from climate actionThe UK is in the throes of our second significant heatwave of the year. It is still early summer. That fact alone ought to give us pause.

Our former chair @alistrathern.bsky.social has written a powerful reminder in his op-ed that climate impacts are not felt equally: "From parched fields to overheating classrooms and overstretched water systems, the impacts are tangible and unevenly felt. www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

politicshome.comWe are unprepared for more frequent and intense heatwaves – and pregnant women are at particular riskAs temperatures soared across the UK last month, many will have revelled in the sunshine. But for pregnant women the risks rose with the thermomete...

Environment APPG supporter Baroness Boycott shines a light on the risks extreme heat poses to pregnant women in her recent op-ed. 🤰☀️ Worryingly, evidence suggests high temperatures can increase the risk of premature birth and low birth weight. www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...