PM Johnson, deal with the climate emergency

Boris Johnson must act swiftly to reduce emissions and put the climate emergency at the centre of his premiership  says Friends of the Earth, as he is announced as the UK’s new Prime Minister today (23 July). The announcement comes as Friends of the Earth has been granted a hearing at the Court of Appeal over the expansion of Heathrow Airport on climate grounds.

Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth chief executive, said: 

“Boris Johnson said he’d ‘lie down in front of the bulldozers’ to prevent a third runway at Heathrow. Now he has the power to cancel this polluting project along with other climate disasters like fracking. And he must. 

"The country is united in wanting an urgent response to the climate crisis.

“Swift government action will decide whether we are a nation with warm homes, clean air, and a thriving renewable industry or whether worsening extreme weather, wildfires and floods cause misery for millions. Prime Minister Johnson, the choice is yours."

Friends of the Earth is calling for decisive action to address the climate emergency in the first 100 days of the new Johnson administration including passing an emergency climate budget in the Autumn which must allocate billions of pounds of investment in areas like public transport, creating warm homes and planting millions of trees.

By the end of 2020 Friends of the Earth wants commitments on:

• Transport: Invest in brilliant and cheap public transport, cycling and walking everywhere. New petrol and diesel cars shouldn’t even be for sale within the decade.
• Power: Start aiming for 100% clean energy from the wind, sun and sea.  Electricity can’t come from dirty fuels anymore and fracking should be banned.
• Buildings: Fund a massive insulation scheme and shift to eco-friendly heating – this will end the misery of cold, expensive-to-heat homes.
• Agriculture and land use: Double tree cover and let wildlife thrive - our land is too precious to be given over to intensive farming.
• Infrastructure: Start making climate change a deal-breaker in all spending decisions.  That means projects that fuel climate change, like airport expansion, can’t go ahead.
• International justice: It’s time the UK paid its fair share to support more vulnerable countries to cut carbon pollution and deal with the impacts of climate change.