Climate crisis poses threat to our security and everyday lives
The worsening climate crisis poses a very real threat not only to our environment, but also our security and every aspect of our lives, the Scottish Greens are warning.
Citing the publication of a report into the impact of climate change on national security by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, a group of senior MPs and Peers, the party point to long term consequences of continued inaction.
Scottish Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell MSP said:
“The climate crisis is here, on our doorstep, and we have to stop sticking our heads in the sand and pretending otherwise.
“It is the greatest crisis that we face. It is not just an environmental threat, it is also a threat to our security. The impacts outlined in this report are a glimpse of our future and what the 'new normal' will look like without far reaching climate action.
“There is a vital and urgent need to future-proof our infrastructure. As the climate crisis worsens, so will the severity and regularity of the floods and extreme weather events we are experiencing. If our water, transport and energy systems are to withstand extreme weather it will require major investment.
“The committee is correct in saying that climate will impact our security and infrastructure, but it goes way beyond that. It threatens to impact every part of our daily lives.
“We’ve already witnessed tragedies on the rails with land slips, on roads with fallen trees and watched as huge floods have devastated whole communities and wildfires have ripped through areas with ferocious intensity.
“We simply do not know what this winter will bring, what follows next summer, or the ones after. But all we have to do is look to places like France, and Spain and Greece to get a sense of what is to come.
“This report is long overdue. It is time for every politician in every corner of the UK to put the climate crisis front and centre of every conversation and policy. Climate change knows no borders, and neither should our response.”