The Guardian
Responding to an article by the PM, Caroline Lucas says he must be clearer about climate risks, Molly Scott Cato says we must reverse Brexit and Dr Victor Ajuwon applauds Labour’s directness. Plus, letters by Toby Harris and Dr Tracey Elliott Keir Starmer’s warning that the UK should not be at the mercy of events abroad is well made ( The Iran war is a warning: Britain must build resilience – at home and with our allies in Europe, 9 April ), but would carry more weight were he to level with the British public about the full breadth of the crises we face. It is extraordinary that nowhere in an article devoted to resilience did he find space to include the growing threat posed to the UK by the dramatic decline in the health of nature around the world. It is even more extraordinary – and, frankly, unforgivable – given that his own intelligence chiefs at the joint intelligence committee (JIC) have recently spelled it out for him in no uncertain terms. In a report that the government shamefully sought first to suppress and then to redact, so that some of the most alarming warnings were removed , the JIC warned of “cascading risks” from the degradation of some of the planet’s most important ecosystems, including conflict, increased competition for resources and economic shocks. Six ecosystems “critical for UK national security” are all “on a pathway to collapse”, some potentially within five years – in other words, they face “irreversible loss of function beyond repair”. The UK’s heavy reliance on food and fertiliser imports means our food security is particularly at risk, threatening food shortages, higher prices and civil unrest. Continue reading...
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