War footing over climate change as Extinction Rebellion targets HS2 – The Yorkshire Post says

From naturalist Sir David Attenborough’s acclaimed documentaries to the school protests inspired by Sweden’s campaigning teenager Greta Thornberg, not even Brexit has stopped this issue rising to the top of the political agenda.

Bill Carmichael: Beware of the cult of Greta Thunberg as there are no glib solutions to climate change debate

Now, as Labour tries to force a Parliamentary vote this week on whether a UK-wide climate emergency should be declared, former party leader Ed Miliband is among those senior politicians launching a new Environmental Justice Commission which calls for the Government to be put on a ‘war footing’.

As Energy and Climate Change Secretary in the last Labour government, the Doncaster North MP does have considerable experience of this issue which should be respected. But as the Labour leader who lost the 2015 election to David Cameron, he will also know that the public here are hostile to paying more green taxes and, in doing so, penalising the poor when the world’s biggest polluters, like the USA and China, are such reluctant reformers.

And while it is right that MPs do respond to the concerns of younger people who are driving this debate, and whose interest in politics should be encouraged, it will be more productive if they do start to work together, and lead by example, to ensure that the future of the environment is put at the heart of all decision-making. If this happens, it might be easier for politicians to convince the more sceptical about the need to take climate action.