Hi John,

If you looked outside your window, anywhere in the UK recently, chances are it’ll have been raining and you won’t be feeling very summery.

But if you’ve turned on the news or opened any newspapers over the last few weeks, you’ll have seen story after story of extreme heat waves and wildfires scorching much of Europe and flash flooding in India. 

The sad fact is the planet as a whole is getting hotter, and the last 8 years alone have been the warmest on record. [1] This follows a month where the world experienced its hottest temperature ever recorded, not once, not twice, but three times, as well as the hottest ever week on record. Here in the UK, last month was the hottest ever June. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Extreme weather is here to stay and likely to get worse, that’s why we need to do all we can to stop it from spiralling out of control. Can you quickly email your MP and urge them to increase their ambition to fix the climate and nature crisis?

Following a couple of by-elections last month, political parties are gearing up for a general election and are on the look-out for opportunities to grab a few headlines. Unfortunately, some politicians are trying to score cheap points by calling into question key climate and nature policies - putting us at risk of spiralling into a race to the bottom on vital environmental commitments. Not only does it make no sense to ditch climate pledges as the world burns, but watering down promises will be extremely unpopular with voters.

It’s time for politicians to listen to the science and listen to the general public. We desperately want solutions to the mess we’re in. Imagine if politicians agreed to stop raw sewage spewing into our beaches and rivers. How about they got to work on reducing plastic waste? What if politicians took the health emergency seriously and redoubled efforts to clean up the toxic air we breathe? What if they got serious about the cost of our energy bills and made a fast-tracked plan to insulate every home in Britain? Fixing these problems is what real leadership looks like.

There’s a lot that’s wrong with the country right now, but we have to remind our politicians that it’s them who can turn things around. Can you quickly email your local MP and push them to get their parties to scale up ambition to remedy the climate and nature crisis?

Last week the Prime Minister confirmed plans to grant over a hundred new licences to drill for new oil and gas. Let's be clear, new oil will not make our bills cheaper. New oil and gas will not give us the energy security that we need. The only certainty in granting these new licences is that our planet will get hotter and oil companies will get richer.

That’s why brave activists took the issue to the Prime Minister's doorstep. Unfortunately, the government responded by cutting ties with Greenpeace. [7][8]

As an organisation with a proud history of peaceful protest and constructive engagement with politicians of all stripes, this is a great shame. But whether the government continues to talk to Greenpeace or not, burying its head in the sand will not make the climate crisis go away. Nor will it change the fact that ministers are now ignoring warnings from civil society, the United Nations Secretary General, their own climate advisors and the International Energy Agency. The only people MPs can't ignore are you. They have a duty to reply and engage with their constituents - and ahead of a general election, they will be extra keen to win your vote. That’s why it’s more important than ever for MPs to hear from you.

Can you remind MPs that we all want bold action on climate change without delay and the time to fix the climate and nature crisis is now!

Thanks for all that you do,

Jack

Greenpeace

Notes

[1] The Last 8 Years Were the Hottest on Record

[2] Monday was hottest day for global average temperature on record, as climate crisis bites

[3] Tuesday was world’s hottest day on record – breaking Monday’s record

[4] For the third time this week, Earth sets an unofficial heat record. What’s behind those big numbers?

[5] UN says climate change ‘out of control’ after likely hottest week on record

[6] June was UK’s hottest on record, says Met Office

[7] Climbers protest against Rishi Sunak's plans to approve over 100 new oil and gas licences

[8] Environment Secretary ‘orders department to cut ties with Greenpeace’ after demo

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