The Science

Unite behind the science,

says 16-year old climate activist Greta Thunberg of Sweden.

When it comes to climate, the science is quite clear:

  • the earth is warming faster than it has in a million years
  • the burning of fossil fuels has dumped millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere
  • unless we STOP the burning of fossil fuels, global warming will continue to speed up
  • we don't know what all the effects of global warming might be, but we do know that they could be severe
  • we know that if the ice caps melt, sea levels will rise and make large areas of coastline uninhabitable
  • we know that continued warming will cause more and more extreme weather events
  • And we now know that if we want to prevent the worst effects of global warming, we need to take IMMEDIATE steps to end our dependence on fossil fuels
  • And we also know exactly what must be done to prevent the worst effects of global warming
  • We must reduce our global carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050
  • That means, for the UK, cutting our current emissions of 460 MMT CO2e to around 260 MMT CO2e by 2030
  • There is only one way to achieve that in the timescale required:
  1. Complete the transition to fossil free energy supply by closing all remaining coal and gas-fired power stations and replacing them with on-shore and off-shore wind farms, solar PV farms and hydro-electricity OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
  2. Transition all UK car manufacturing from petrol and diesel to battery electric vehicles (BEV) and ban the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles WITHIN THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
  3. Require all new residential and commercial buildings to be heated with electric heat pump technology and begin the process of converting all existing buildings from gas to electricity for heating and cooking.