Britons say climate more pressing than Brexit

A new poll has revealed that most adults in the UK care more about climate change in the long-term than Brexit and believe it should be a top priority for the new Prime Minister.

The research from Christian Aid found that 71 per cent of people agree that climate change will be more important than the UK’s departure from the European Union in the long-term, while 61 per cent do not believe the government is doing enough to prioritise climate change.

The ComRes survey, commissioned by the charity, claims that even people in some higher Brexit voting parts of the UK, such as Wales (78 per cent) and the East Midlands (74 per cent), are slightly more likely than the total (71 per cent) to say that climate change is a more important issue than Brexit in the long-term.

Laura Taylor, director of advocacy for Christian Aid, said: “‘I hope the Prime Minister will hear the challenge from the majority of the UK public to do more to tackle this climate emergency. We need a rapid and radical shift to reduce emissions in the UK and we need global action for climate justice in which the most vulnerable communities are supported to not only survive but to thrive.

“As we have seen this week, the UK is increasingly subject to extreme weather patterns. These patterns are even more exacerbated in other parts of the world, where droughts, floods and storms are wreaking havoc, costing lives and seeing millions of pounds of damage each year. The pervasive impact of climate change on everyone – and particularly those in the communities in which Christian Aid works – means we cannot ignore it. The UK public is waking up to the devastating effects of the climate emergency – it’s time the UK government did so too.”