22 April 2021 : Earth Day is an annual event to support environmental protection.
It is five years ago today that the Paris Agreement was signed; committing countries around the world to reduce carbon emissions – requiring economic and social changes.
This year, the UK hosts COP26 – with the aim of accelerating the global action to combat climate change.
Globally, we have seen fires, floods, famine – all caused by climate change. In the UK, we have experienced record high temperatures, record levels of rainfall and record periods without rainfall. We have seen farmers struggle with drought, flooding around the country and unseasonal weather.
In North Tyneside, modelling suggests that parts of the borough will disappear due to rising sea levels.
We need urgent action on climate.
The UK Government announced new targets earlier this week, committing to a 78% reduction on net emissions by 2035. However, as is far too common, we are still waiting on policies to ensure that the UK meets these targets – while we still see other policies, such as record road building, new coal mines, and airport expansion continue. We see ministers continue to fly domestically, instead of travelling by train.
In North Tyneside, the Council are working towards carbon neutral by 2050 – despite climate science showing that we must act by 2030. As with Westminister, actions are not yet following words. The Council’s Climate Action Plan is still in development, almost two years since declaring a Climate Emergency.
On 6 May 2021, we can all use our vote to speak for change – to force our leaders to change their behaviours.
We believe that Better is Possible | Vote Green on 6 May 2021.
Notes
https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/news/27823/budget-agreed-2021-2022