COP26 has refocused the world’s attention on climate action. And the continuing flurry of litigation suggests citizens are now more serious than ever about pressing those in positions of power to address the climate crisis.
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Are we building back better? He acknowledges this is a tough stance to take, but that the transition needs to be a managed process – while also cautioning that increased government debt leads to concerns about austerity measures. ‘This won’t help the transition either – they do need to invest in the transition,’ Palmer adds. Even having a legislated net-zero emissions goal has not deterred the United Kingdom from controversially saying it will permit further oil and gas drilling in the North Sea and initially refusing to get involved in a decision regarding a new coal mine in Cumbria, saying it was a local issue, before changing tack in the face of global outcry and ordering a public inquiry.
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Are we building back better? ‘The sense that we have is that we’ve won the rhetoric war – but we’re nowhere close to having a green economy,’ says Ronan Palmer, head of the clean economy programme at London-based think-tank E3G. ‘The longer the pandemic goes on, the more governments may have to support the fossil fuel industry as that’s where the jobs are at the moment.’ He acknowledges this is a tough stance to take, but that the transition needs to be a managed process – while also cautioning that increased government debt leads to concerns about austerity measures. ‘This won’t help the transition either – they do need to invest in the transition,’ Palmer adds.