Parliament must declare a climate emergency - not ignore it | Caroline Lucas

Westminster's lacklustre approach is incredible. We need nothing short of a transformation of the way we live our livesMPs debated climate change in the Commons chamber last week for the first time in two years. It was our first opportunity since September 2016 to talk about the biggest and most urgent crisis humanity has ever faced. Just 40 MPs showed up. This absenteeism speaks volumes. Even as we've sweated through a record-breaking February, as wildfires tear through our ancient woodlands, as insect and wildlife populations collapse around us, the words "climate change" are scarcely whispered in the corridors of Whitehall.Since 2010, this government has built a bonfire out of the measures designed to cut emissions. Zero carbon homes targets have been scrapped. Onshore wind has been effectively banned. Solar power has been shafted. The Green Investment Bank has been flogged off. Fracking has been forced on communities who have rejected it. Ministers champion the drop in our domestic carbon dioxide emissions - but they neglect to mention the true scale of our impact. Between 1997 and 2015, our total carbon footprint - taking into account everything we import and consume, as well as what we produce - declined by a pitiful 3.8%. Continue reading...