7 May 2019
Nature is in desperate straits in the UK
Environmental action will also improve people’s lives
Responding to the major UN report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (1), just issued, which concludes that we are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide, Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, said:
“We are today pursuing policies that are trashing the planet. As the UN report highlights, the threat isn’t just climate change, we are also seeing a collapse in biodiversity and bioabundance. That’s particularly acute in Britain, where nature is in desperate straits.
“Yet we are doing that while creating unequal, economically unsustainable societies where far too many people are struggling to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.
“We cannot continue to treat the planet this way, and that’s an opportunity, because in making the changes we need environmentally, we can also build far healthier, happier, more stable societies than we have today.
“More than 70 per cent of carbon emissions come from cities. And it is there that we can most easily slash emissions and use resources efficiently – with great provision for active transport, walking and cycling, public transport, warm homes and great communities.
“By stopping factory farming and using farmland well we can produce a vegetable- and fruit-rich healthy diet that all can afford, and free up land for nature, rewilding and trees that will store carbon for us.”
(1) https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment
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