Nearly 7 out of 10 North Westerners are anxious about the impact of climate change and only 23% believe the Government is doing enough to tackle the climate crisis, according to research released today by The Climate Coalition.
The research also found that the impact of climate change is parents in Northwest BIGGEST concern for their kids’ future lives (46%), over and above health (36%), money (33%) and job worries (33%).
The poll comes as the campaign group, with members including the National Trust and Woodland Trust, Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, Save The Children and Oxfam, launches a new campaign called Letters to Tomorrow, which will see the public writing letters to their loved ones about their hopes and fears for the future. The Climate Coalition will send a letter each day to new PM Liz Truss and the Leader of the Opposition, Sir Keir Starmer, as a daily reminder of the level of public concern about climate change.
The campaign aims to generate thousands of letters and green postboxes have appeared in Manchester, London, Cornwall and Cardiff to encourage more. The postboxes have been placed in areas that are already feeling the effects of climate change: St Peter’s Square in Manchester, an area recently regenerated and filled with trees to mitigate the risk of flooding; Euston Road in London, one of London’s hotspots of air pollution; the Hayle Estuary in Cornwall renowned for bursting its banks during high tides, and Fitzhamon Embankment in Cardiff another area at risk of flooding.
Public figures including Chris Packham, Annie Lennox, Mya-Rose Craig, JB Gill, Dr Amir Khan Bay Garnet, Jame Ling Wong and Livia Firth have already contributed a Letter to Tomorrow, alongside charity CEOs, community groups, schools and people up and down the country.
Bronwen Smith-Thomas, Head of Campaigns and Politics at The Climate Coalition commented, “Our Letters to Tomorrow campaign is giving people the opportunity to voice their very personal hopes and fears around the climate crisis. It’s designed to give those in power a rare glimpse into the everyday anxiety that the British public are feeling right now.
Many of us will be familiar with the phrase ‘the days are long but the years are short’. We believe it’s crucial for our leaders to stop acting as though there’s plenty of time to tackle the climate crisis and realise it is already here and affecting us all.
This campaign is our call to arms. We need leaders to get on the right side of history now. We need to reduce our dependence on expensive and polluting gas, by investing in more efficient homes and replacing fossil fuels with affordable renewable energy, and start protecting and restoring nature in the UK and abroad.”
The Climate Coalition urges Brits to share their vision for a greener future and submit their own Letters To Tomorrow via letterstotomorrow.com.
