Christmas is a time to think of all those that are suffering from climate change - Yorkshire Post Letters

The festive season has arrived in the shops, inviting us to reflect on goodwill towards our fellow humans. Yet, as we start to focus on cheer at home, we must confront the reality that for millions across the globe, this season is marked by extreme climate devastation - events amplified by our continued burning of fossil fuels.

From the Caribbean, where Hurricane Melissa’s violence was escalated by elevated sea temperatures, to Vietnam, facing yet more catastrophic flooding, the crisis is accelerating.

The plight of the Philippines is particularly stark: reeling from one tropical storm, it was then hit by a "super-typhoon," forcing well over a million people to evacuate homes threatened by floods and landslides.

The people of Pakistan are suffering devastation on repeat, as thousands have been killed and millions affected by accelerated meltwater from Himalayan glaciers and intensified cloud bursts. This is the consequence of a warmer atmosphere holding, and then violently releasing, more moisture.

The impacts are also being felt closer to home. This year alone, UK farmers have been hammered by an unrelenting sequence of floods followed by droughts, putting businesses at risk. Across Europe, over a million hectares have been torched by wildfires, impacting air quality and decimating wildlife.

Charities offer vital community recovery, but their resources are stretched beyond the limit, and they cannot solve the underlying, systemic problem.

The greatest and most enduring act of goodwill we can demonstrate is not merely helping victims recover, but decisively acting to remove the cause of their suffering. It is time we showed our fundamental support for the only lasting solution: ending our reliance on fossil fuels.