This long, hot summer has brought our third drought in five years and the driest July in almost two centuries. We’ve seen wildfires burn down homes and now face the risk of flash floods as we move into autumn. It should be a wake-up call for those saying that concerns about the climate crisis are overblown; that we should simply sit back and do nothing; or row back on attempts to restore our natural environment. As the new environment secretary, I won’t let that happen.
No one who has experienced this summer in the UK should be in any doubt that our climate is already changing. We know the future holds warmer, wetter winters, hotter, drier summers, and more extreme weather.
Honesty about what is required to deal with this changing reality is the least we should expect from our politicians. But last week we saw an astonishing response from Reform UK’s deputy leader, who told people to “enjoy” the scorching heatwaves and described this government’s efforts to combat the climate crisis as “arrogant”.
This response isn’t just ignorant; it is insulting.
Insulting to the firefighters risking their lives to fight blazes up and down the country. Insulting to the public whose lives are disrupted by scorching temperatures that were once a rare occurrence. And insulting to our farmers struggling to turn a profit as drought damages their crops.
This government’s response is not to throw in the towel and accept the chaos caused by extreme weather. It is to work to build and manage landscapes so they are resilient enough to withstand it and recover.
We know that healthy ecosystems retain more water and can help act as natural firebreaks. That resilience does not just protect us from the impacts of wildfire. It guards against flooding and pollution, too.
But some, including the Conservatives, have made the argument that rewilding lowers resilience to fire and that we should reverse restrictions on burning heather on our moors and peatlands. The exact opposite is true.
The evidence clearly shows that wetter, healthy peatlands hold more water and are less likely to develop species that are vulnerable to fires. The damage that has been done to these vital habitats by decades of burning has made them more vulnerable to wildfires in the long term, not less.
The solution to raging wildfires is not more burning of our countryside. It is to restore and better manage our environment.
Where rewilding has been prioritised, as at the National Trust’s Holnicote estate, you can clearly see the stark difference that it makes to the ability to withstand extreme weather. In areas where rivers and wetlands have been restored, the plants are green and blooming. Elsewhere, the ground is brown and dry.
As environment secretary, most of what comes across my desk is underpinned by the need to adapt to our changing climate – and this government is taking these challenges head on.
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That’s why the prime minister this month convened an emergency Cobra meeting, bringing together senior ministers, firefighters, weather forecasters and other experts to make sure we’re doing all we can to keep the country safe from wildfires. That includes a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues.
We are spending almost £100m to strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to wildfires and extreme weather.
And we are backing our farmers during the drought with a £65m funding boost, rule changes to make building on-site reservoirs easier and the largest nature-friendly budget in history to make our farms more resilient to extreme weather and to protect our food security.
Adapting to our changing climate demands sustained attention, effort and investment. Others may simply deny the problem or stick their heads in the sand, but this government will rise to the challenge.
