Don't you know there's a climate crisis on?

During the Second World War, the people of Britain were encouraged to go about their daily routines despite the fear of bombing raids, the rations and the restrictions. "Keep calm and carry on", the oft-mimicked posters urged, as upper lips stiffened and socks were metaphorically pulled up. It pulled people through the fear.

On 1st May 2019, the UK House of Commons voted to declare a climate emergency. It is a move that was a central demand of groups such as Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion. But what does it look like in practice to be in a state of crisis? The climate crisis is a different type of crisis. We cannot rely on military might to save us, nor can we afford to wait for people in big offices lined with marble and leather to solve our problems. Keeping calm and carrying on in the face of mounting evidence is what got us here, so what trade-offs will be made in this new political reality?

We are already seeing the effects of the vote in Scotland, where the government has dropped plans to cut air travel taxes. This is one tiny step, but evidence of a huge shift in political will when gas prices are still low and voters will be missing out on a financial benefit. This shows that the natural environment is now being weighted differently in the equation of (votes) + (money) + (environment). Once this shift is made across the board, or at least by a majority of politicians, the way they make decisions will make a seismic shift and it is that scale of change we need. There are still very difficult choices to make between different stakeholders and trade-offs. But the urgency, and to a certain extent the political will, has changed in light of this decision.

Personally, I'm glad to see Parliament admitting the crisis we are in. For decades, scientists and environmental activists have been adamant about the direction we were heading if we carried on as we were, but it has often felt like shouting into the (hurricane force) wind. Being told not to worry so much about it ironically caused me to panic more. When I read the news about the Commons vote, I wrote to my MP thanking him for that outcome, but urging him to act accordingly. Now that we have politically framed climate change as a crisis, we need to hold our politicians accountable to act accordingly, and putting the environment before short-term political or financial gain. So, get active, talk to your representatives and make sure they weigh the environment