The longer we take, the more people will die’ - missed promises leave Britain suffering more from heatwaves and fires, nature chief says
"It is about the need for us to run fast towards a much better future," campaigner Craig Bennett said.
By Victoria Seabrook, Climate reporter
@SeabrookClimate
Wednesday 19 July 2023 03:44, UK
Broni Lloyd-Edwards
More people will die, more homes will burn, more crops will wither and heatwaves will be harder to bear in Britain until the government delivers outstanding pledges on nature, one of the country's leading environmentalists has said.
The "promises, pledges and rhetoric" of the Conservative government over the last 13 years has "far outpaced" what it's actually doing, according to Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, a federation of 46 conservation charities.
The long-time campaigner pointed to air pollution, which prematurely kills 64,000 people every year in the UK, according to parliamentary figures, and which can be tackled by things like cutting emissions and planting trees.
"The longer we take on that, very simply, the more people die... And perhaps we need to get better at stating it in those terms," he said in an outspoken interview with Sky News.
It comes as the Environmental Audit Committee of MPs today warned government tree-planting is hitting less than half its annual targets.
But the government has cut carbon dioxide emissions by 44%, faster than any other G7 country.
It said it is "going further and faster on nature than any other" - and is spending billions in the process.