By Alex Lewis
Imagine a sinking ship but the passengers are unaware that they are going down. It is to this metaphor which I liken the climate emergency.
On 19th July 2022 Coningsby, Lincolnshire hit 40.3C. Some raved about the temperatures, hailing it is a welcome change from the mundane British summertime. Murdoch’s Talk TV hosted some such celebrators, who demanded why the other reporters were not so jovial. Others took it as a warning sign for what is to come. In the words of journalist Donnachadh McCarthy, ‘the UK’s heatwave was not a wakeup call-it was a funeral bell’.
‘the UK’s heatwave was not a wakeup call-it was a funeral bell’
Climate Emergency Mortality
Unfortunately, the latter opinion is the accurate one. At 40C in the UK parts of roads began to melt, train tracks buckled, and forests burned. The London fire brigade received more than 2,600 calls on the 19th relating to the heat, with many life-threatening cases. Wennington in East London was a prime example of such effects as buildings became engulfed in flames.
Public Health England announced in 2020 that summer heatwaves that year had caused 2,556 excess deaths. Two years later, these issues have got significantly worse. Those with pre-existing health conditions such as heart disease or asthma saw a worsening of symptoms with many vulnerable elderly or young people needing medical help. With the NHS already suffering from almost a decade of underfunding, the future is bleak when it comes to coping with the climate crisis. With climate specific issues becoming more apparent, concerns run high about an even bigger struggle to cope with the future influx of patients. In 2018, the Environment Audit Committee stated that the UK was ‘woefully unprepared’ for heatwaves and warned that heat-related deaths could reach 7,000 per year by 2050. We now sit in 2022 having just experienced record-breaking temperatures and heading towards that target at an alarming speed.
As extreme weather events become more frequent, access to medical treatment and medicine is becoming more at risk. On 19 March 2019 a cyclone made landfall in Mozambique causing flash flooding. As a result of this many HIV patients were left stranded without their medicine after it had been washed away.
In other parts of Africa, lack of rainfall and increased temperatures have caused severe drought. This has also disrupted access to healthcare as drought-depleted resources have led to conflict which has made it more difficult to access essential services.
The common denominator between events such as these are that the poorest always suffer the greatest. In 2018 the United Nations stated that 1/3 of the global population are poor or near poor and face persistent threats to their livelihoods. They then estimated that due to climate change more than 100 million people could be in extreme poverty by 2030 and over 200 million could be displaced due to more frequent extreme weather disasters. The poorer a community, the harder it is to recover from events caused by the climate crisis such as water shortages, failed harvests, health crises and destroyed homes.
Coping with the Heat
Some may ask why other countries can cope with 40C heat when the UK struggles. The answer is that countries with naturally hotter climates have built their infrastructure to deal with such temperatures. Including stressing railway tracks to withstand higher temperatures and building structures with better air circulation and air conditioning. Many hotter countries also have set a maximum temperature for working conditions. For example, in China if temperatures reach 40C, outdoor work must be suspended and in Spain the temperatures must be between 14C and 25C for even light physical work. In comparison, the UK’s railway tracks are stressed to only 27C, old Victorian houses are built to retain heat for winter and there is currently no legal temperature limit in the workplace. This is not to say that we should simply adjust to the effects of climate change as this is impossible. Metaphorically speaking it would be the equivalent of putting a plaster on a bullet wound. However, for the health and safety of the population we must plan for inevitably high temperatures.
A Capitalist Crisis
I would now like to return to my previous false use of the word ‘unfortunately’ regarding the advent of the climate crisis. The fact is the climate emergency is not unfortunate, it is not bad luck, it is instead the result of over a century of pumping fossil fuels into the atmosphere. It is for the profits of the few that the general population have been misled into believing that climate change is not an emergency but a phenomenon that is either natural, tolerable, or simply a myth. It is for the profits of the few that the many will suffer. The reality is the climate crisis is a capitalist crisis: the richest 10% are responsible for 49% of total lifestyle consumption emissions (see below graph).
As a country we continue to be faced with inactive governments who are unable to keep legally binding agreements such as net zero by 2050. In June 2019, legislation was passed to reduce greenhouse gases by 100% relative to 1990 levels by 2050. Currently we are not on track to meet this. It is important to note that even if we were to reach net zero by 2050, such a reduction is not likely to stop the worst effects of the climate emergency. As the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen stated in the opening speech at COP26 “Net-Zero by 2050 is good, but it’s not enough”.
“Net-Zero by 2050 is good, but it’s not good enough”
It is excruciating to watch UK leaders debate about priorities such as economic growth when we are faced with extinction and societal collapse. For example, according to ‘TheyWorkForYou’ Boris Johnson is recorded as ‘generally voting against measures to prevent climate change’ between 2004 and 2020. The most agonising part is that scientists have been warning leadership about climate change since the 1980s. Yet leaders such as Boris Johnson have actively ignored and rejected policy that may have improved our current position within the crisis. For example, in 2021 the government announced new plans for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, the same year that the UK hosted COP26.
Even as I write this blog now, another four-day extreme weather warning has been issued with the Met Office cautioning that this heatwave is likely to last longer than the previous July event. In fear of a drought, hosepipe bans are also being issued across the South of England. This is a prime example of the continuous development of the climate crisis and the increased frequency of extreme weather events. It is also a prime example of the government’s half-hearted measures to mitigate the heatwave and its lack of a comprehensive plan to radically address the climate emergency.
To refer back to my section on global poverty, I ask the question: How do the 10% feel no remorse for the 90% of the population who are being left to pick up the pieces of their self-serving actions? And most importantly, what are we the 90% going to do to change that?
A Call to Action
As a young university student, my peers and I are constantly overwhelmed by climate anxiety. In a world of oil tycoons, inactive governments, and climate change deniers, it often feels like a losing battle.
I discussed the issue with a few of my RESULTS Brighton colleagues and others my age. The resounding consensus was that life for young people is already testing enough with the increase of university fees, increases in rent and the cost-of-living crisis. The over looming collapse of ecosystems is just the top of a long list of issues causing young adults to develop increased mental health issues i.e climate anxiety.
Why is it those that go against the grain and advocate for change get looked down upon? Why as a society do we look down on those that are making a last-ditch attempt to save the planet from utter chaos instead of rising them up as role models?
Therefore, I and many in the UK beg the question, was this an isolated heatwave or a glimpse of the future?
The short answer is that the July heatwave was just the beginning.
You may be asking what you personally are supposed to do to avert the worst of this crisis. The answer is complicated as it is the corporations that are causing the bulk of this emergency and they are refusing to take responsibility for it. A good place to start is raising our voices, protesting, and influencing our peers. Speaking up can get us on track to bring these climate criminals one step closer to justice. It is not hopeless yet, but the clock is very much ticking. The main thing to remember is that we are the many and they are the few. We the general population hold the power to change the future of the climate crisis.
Collaborative editing credits to Klervi Mignon and Noor Umar.
Follow Up Resources
Climate Change and the Rise of Poverty | United Nations Development Programme (undp.org)
We’re rising up for climate justice – GND Rising
The UK’s heatwave was not a wake-up call – it was a funeral bell | The Independent
RESULTS Brighton Blog 