City MP Stephen Morgan has highlighted the Labour government’s action to tackle the climate crisis, as communities across the country – including here in Portsmouth South – continue to feel the impact of extreme heat and drought this summer.
It comes as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham convenes an emergency COBRA meeting to address the UK’s severe heatwave.
New figures from IPSOS show 74% of people are concerned about climate change following this summer’s extreme weather, with almost three-quarters of England and all of Wales currently in drought and more than 27 million people living under water use restrictions.
Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It’s happening here, now, to people across Portsmouth. Even everyday pleasures like sitting outside for a picnic in the summer have become unbearable and at times dangerous.”
“In Portsmouth alone, we have seen our local hospital declare a critical incident, refrigeration units at local shops breaking down with food being wasted, and green spaces turning into brown tinderboxes, with wildfire scares in Eastney.”
“I am proud to serve in a Government that takes this threat seriously, delivering record investments into sea defence schemes and measures to make homes more efficient through the Warm Homes Plan, protecting our climate resilience in Portsmouth.”
Since taking office, this Labour government has delivered:
- Clean energy to power over 16 million homes, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels
- Heat pumps and solar panels funded through the Warm Homes Plan, helping to tackle fuel poverty and make homes more efficient
- Cutting VAT on energy bills, saving Portsmouth households on average £45 a year
- Record investments into sea defence schemes, including the Southsea Coastal Scheme
- Measures to clean up our rivers and seas, with ringfenced funding to force water companies to invest in infrastructure
This contrasts with the record of other parties: the Conservatives have pledged to scrap climate targets, while Reform have called to scrap all green energy targets, restart fracking and bring back coal mining.
For a full update on the work of the Government to tackle the climate crisis go to Protecting our precious environment – an update – Stephen Morgan MP
