It’s about time we recognized that we’ve been in a state of climate change emergency for some time

The leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, intends to force a vote in the House of Commons to declare a national environmental and climate emergency after the publication of confidential documents revealing that the Conservative government led by Teresa May has spent only a small part of a fund created in 2015 to promote initiatives to reduce or eliminate emissions and pollution.

Declaring a climate change emergency would require urgent action to avoid global warming passing 1.5ºC, which would mean a 45% reduction in global emissions by 2030 compared to the levels of 2010, with zero emissions by 2050. These objectives will imply faster deployment of measures than the vast majority of governments have proposed up to now, along with a new mindset and awareness of the dangers we face.

For the moment, with Labour in opposition, Corbyn can only put pressure on May’s government to make clear its position on a subject that the recent high-profile protests led by Extinction Rebellion have pushed onto the political agenda. A declaration of a climate change emergency in a country like the United Kingdom could also trigger collective reflection and similar moves in other countries.