A minister on Tuesday slapped down Tory MPs criticising the Government’s net zero plans stressing: “We need to act,” as other European countries were being hit with sweltering temperatures.
Nuclear minister Andrew Bowie flatly rejected arguments being made by Lee Anderson, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, who said voters are “sick to death” of hearing about net zero.
He told Times Radio: “We need to act...look at what is happening across Europe, North America.
“Climate change is real. We need to take action.
“But it’s not just for climate change reasons, as important as that it, this is also about energy security, reducing people’s bills and about creating meaningful, high-wage, high-skilled jobs in this country well into the future.”
He made the comments as the Government promised grants of up to £157 million to several nuclear technology projects across the UK as it launched a separate competition for businesses to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) for Britain’s nuclear industry.
As temperatures in parts of Europe have risen above 40 degrees C, warnings were issued that they could hit 48 degrees C.
Italy’s health ministry on Monday issued red weather alerts - signaling a possible health threat for anyone exposed to the heat - for 20 of the country’s 27 main cities on Tuesday, with the number expected to rise to 23 on Wednesday.
France’s public health agency said the current stretch of hot weather would probably hospitalize or kill “many” people, as heat waves have done almost every summer since 2015. The World Meteorological Organisation said the extreme heat and rainfall was expected to extend into August.
Wildfires outside Athens forced thousands to flee seaside resorts, closed highways and gutted vacation homes Monday, as high winds pushed flames through hillside scrub and pine forests parched by days of extreme heat.
In Phoenix, Arizona, a relentless streak of dangerously hot days was finally poised to smash a record for major US cities on Tuesday, the 19th straight day the desert city was to see temperatures soar to 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 C) or more.
Meanwhile, US climate envoy John Kerry told senior Chinese officials on Tuesday that Beijing and Washington could use climate cooperation to redefine their troubled relationship and lead the way in tackling global warming.
