I joined hundreds of thousands of people up and down the country proudly wearing green hearts to show they want to protect the people, places and lives they love from climate change.
I wore the heart, sent by a constituent, as part of The Climate Coalition's ‘Show The Love’ campaign which celebrates things that could be lost without efforts to tackle climate change – from beaches to bees and cricket to coffee.
A report released last week from the Coalition warned that a population the size of Birmingham and Manchester combined face significant flood risk. It comes at a time when we have just seen flooding caused by storm Ciara, and the report points out that climate change has made extreme rainfall in the UK ‘40% more likely’.
The Climate Coalition is made up of more than 140 organisations representing more than 22 million people, ranging from aid agencies such as CAFOD and Christian Aid to groups such as the Women’s Institute, WWF, RSPB, and the National Trust.
Last year the UK was the first major economy to set a net zero emissions target, committing to ending our contribution to climate change within a generation. However, we are massively off track to meeting that target and need policies across the piste, such as boosting public transport and active travel, putting homes on track to net zero, expanding renewable generation, and restoring and revitalising our natural landscapes.
