IPCC climate report - our reaction

Reacting to the landmark UN climate report, Haf Elgar, Director of Friends of the Earth Cymru, said: 

“People’s lives, here in Wales and across the world, are already being devastated by floods, heatwaves, and other disasters. And this report makes it clear that extreme weather events will become more frequent and intense.

“This is a big wake-up call – if we want a habitable planet, the window is just about still open. Every fraction of a degree now matters more than ever.

“To save people’s lives and livelihoods, and our precious natural world, we must all treat the climate emergency like a real emergency. And we all have a part to play.

“The UK Government must stop supporting fossil fuel projects and high carbon infrastructure like roads and airports. They can start by cancelling the Cambo oil field in Scotland and scrapping the coal mine in Cumbria.

“The Welsh Government, with its new climate change ministry, is better placed to take the necessary action to cut climate damaging emissions, and the freeze on new roads shows that it can make bold decisions.

“Before the international climate talks in Glasgow, the Welsh Government is due to publish a plan for reducing climate-damaging emissions. This plan must be ambitious to reflect the urgency set out by the IPCC report.”