From record-smashing temperatures, wildfires, hosepipe bans and thousands of premature deaths, the climate crisis has left its mark across the summer of 2026.
Tackling the root cause – the burning of fossil fuels – and ending the crisis will take years. So will fixing the UK government’s calamitous failure to protect lives and livelihoods against the long-predicted affects of global heating.
But the climate emergency is right here, right now, and here are 10 policies that Andy Burnham’s government should consider announcing urgently.
1. Reject drilling licences for the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gasfields
This would be a vital and confidence-boosting sign that the UK is committed to putting a rocket-booster under the clean, green and very fast-growing economy of the 21st century, not the fossil-fuelled one of the last. It would also give diplomatic weight to the UK as it works internationally to cut emissions and end the climate crisis.
The supposed benefits of approving the North Sea oil and gasfields are mostly fantasy. They will have no impact on UK energy prices – oil and gas are commodities whose price is set by international markets. As the UK Energy Research Council says: “Assertions that drilling the North Sea will provide energy resilience and affordability in the face of current fuel price shocks are a delusion.”
As for jobs, the licences would support very few – again, unlike the growing green economy. Some also argue North Sea production is less carbon intensive than imports, but that ignores the far cleaner record of our main gas importer, Norway, as well as the methane emissions from LNG, and in any case the differences are small compared with CO2 savings of using renewable energy and storage instead of gas.
2. Increase windfall tax on fossil fuel giants to pay for adaptation measures
When people say money is tight, remember the eight biggest oil companies made a staggering $93bn in the three months to the end of June – almost double their profits from the same period last year. At the same time, carbon emissions from the oil and gas these companies produce are driving the escalating climate crisis, and bills for ordinary consumers continue to rise. An increased windfall tax on these excess profits could raise huge sums for government coffers and help pay for emergency adaptation measures.
3. Make grey water reuse mandatory in new buildings and incentivise rainwater harvesting
The UK is predicted to face a shortfall of 5bn litres of water a day – that’s 2,000 Olympic-sized pools of water – by 2055. Grey water recycling or reuse captures water from sinks, showers, baths, washing machines and other “wash water” sources – not toilets – for use in homes. Rainwater capture is another way to make homes more water efficient and reduce the demand for drinking water. Grey water is not safe to drink but reusing it for other activities, such as toilet flushing, can reduce an individual’s water consumption by 50%.
In some water-stressed areas, developers must demonstrate no net increase in water use. But there is no mandate for grey water systems within the government’s future homes standard. The Drinking Water Inspectorate is now moving towards removing these legislative barriers.
4. Bring the water industry under national control
The privatised water system has overseen record sewage pollution levels into rivers and seas and presided over a system which critics argue prioritises shareholder dividends, big salaries and bonuses over investing in and maintaining a vital public infrastructure. More than £85bn has gone to shareholders, while the industry has failed to upgrade infrastructure to make it resilient to climate change by building reservoirs, upgrading pipes to stop leaking – a fifth of water running through pipes is lost to leakage – and making sure wastewater treatment plants have capacity for sewage treatment.
With debts of more than £60bn, the industry in many cases is unable to provide the service it is legally bound to – treat wastewater and provide drinking water. Campaigners such as Surfers Against Sewage argue a publicly controlled water industry will remove short-term profit motives, allow access to lower-cost public borrowing for massive capital investments, and enforce a 25- to 50-year resilience strategy across regional catchments rather than the fragmented corporate boundaries that exist now.
5. Invest in proper equipment for firefighters
Firefighters in Britain are depleted in terms of the equipment needed to fight large, unpredictable wildfires. While, for example, Spanish emergency services and the military extensively use specialised amphibious planes and helicopters to scoop up water and dump it on wildfires, the UK does not own any dedicated water-bombing planes. Instead, British fire services rely on ground crews, with occasional military support for heavy lifting, and privately chartered commercial helicopters equipped with suspended buckets to drop water on large wildfires.
6. Implement a maximum workplace temperature
During June’s heatwaves, temperatures in some workplaces became unbearable – and dangerous. Teachers reported classrooms reaching well over 40C with children and staff struggling to cope, while bus drivers spoke about the “horrendous” working conditions with temperatures again in excess of 40C in their cabs.
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The Trades Union Congress (TUC) wants a maximum working temperature, a demand recently backed by the government’s advisers on the Climate Change Committee. They want rules to ensure employers take steps to reduce workplace temperatures if they get above 24C and the right for workers to stop work if they reach 30C, or 27C for those doing strenuous jobs.
As heatwaves intensify – and become more dangerous for younger, older and more vulnerable people – having free access to a nearby space that is cool, well-ventilated and comfortable will become increasingly important. Experts say that school halls, libraries or leisure centres are among the buildings that could be reassigned when extreme heat hits. Barcelona has been a pioneer of these climate shelters and now has more than 400 across the city. The idea has now spread across Europe and experts say this summer’s heat shows it is time the UK caught up.
8. Launch a national retrofit programme
Homes in the UK are among the draftiest and least energy-efficient in Europe. This means they are often too hot in summer and too cold in winter, leading to high bills and spiralling carbon emissions.
Efforts to persuade the private sector to take on the challenge of making homes fit for the changing climate have failed. But a report earlier this year suggested councils could take the lead on a retrofitting programme backed by national government. Under the plan, councils would train and employ their own retrofitting workforce and, starting with key public services such as hospitals and care homes, then work through council and social housing before moving on to privately owned homes. The report said it would not only make the country’s homes and public services more climate resilient, but it would also tackle the cost of living, create secure jobs and stimulate growth. They added it would also be a more efficient way of spending the public funds already allocated for insulation.
9. Plant more trees and protect existing nature
As well as absorbing atmospheric carbon and locking it up for centuries, planting more trees creates shade that can reduce the urban heat island effect. Neighbourhoods with more than 20% urban tree canopy have been found to experience a net cooling effect.
More than four in five homes and workplaces across 25 European cities have less nearby tree canopy than what is needed for meaningful cooling, according to RMIT University. While planting trees today can create cooling in the future, the researchers said a newly planted tree would not shade a building for 15 or 20 years and so conserving our existing trees was essential.
“Every mature tree lost now is irreplaceable on the timeline that matters for current heatwaves,” said lead author, Dr Thami Croeser.
10. Encourage regenerative agriculture approaches to increase food resilience
Regenerative farming is an approach to farming that allows the land, soil, water, nutrients and natural assets to regenerate themselves, as opposed to conventional approaches to farming that can deplete these natural resources.
This approach can help crops become more resilient to drought and dry weather. In one study, regenerative management of the soil led to a 23% increase in soil moisture content, and it has been shown to increase yields.
Alistair Chisholm, water, policy, regulation and governance lead at consultancy firm Arup, said current agricultural policies were not driving widespread regenerative approaches, but that changing this would be an easy win to boost food security.
