Politicians will be judged on whether they tackle the climate crisis. That’s the view of Professor Jim Skea, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, speaking exclusively to the Evening Standard. And that requires not only warm words, but net zero pledges “backed up by credible actions”. Regrettably, some of our political leaders are instead backsliding.
In his role, Professor Skea does not comment on the net zero plans of individual nations. But the UK’s own Climate Change Committee recently warned Britain’s leadership position on addressing global warming had been “very substantially challenged” by government chaos and actions over the last year or so. Indeed, only days ago Rishi Sunak provoked a backlash by backing hundreds of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. This followed weeks of anti-green interventions, most notably on the extension to London’s ultra low emission zone.
