More than 50 environmental and advocacy groups have sent a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling on him to break his silence on the climate crisis amid escalating extreme weather conditions affecting the country. The correspondence was signed by major organizations including Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth, and the Women’s Institute, and delivered earlier in the week as the UK grapples with its fifth heatwave of the year alongside severe droughts and wildfires spreading across the nation.
The groups argue that Burnham’s failure to explicitly address climate change as the underlying cause of these conditions undermines the government’s ability to prepare the public and implement necessary adaptations and emissions reduction measures. They point out that extreme heat is producing tangible economic damage by forcing school closures, disrupting regional transportation systems, and straining the National Health Service. The letter notes that despite holding a government crisis meeting to address the heatwave and drought, Burnham’s subsequent public statement omitted any mention of climate change, instead focusing on other issues such as disposable barbecues.
The organizations specifically contrast Burnham’s current silence with his previous record as mayor of Greater Manchester, when he made strong statements supporting climate action and endorsed an international fossil fuel treaty as a vital measure. They urge him to demonstrate the same clarity and commitment in his current role as prime minister. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has taken a different approach, recently posting a social media video explicitly linking the extreme weather conditions to climate change and characterizing it as a national security concern requiring government intervention.
The letter comes as the government prepares to make decisions regarding new fossil fuel development, specifically proposals to advance drilling at the Jackdaw gas field and the Rosebank oil field in the North Sea. Environmental campaigners view these decisions as a critical test of the administration’s climate commitments, with groups like Uplift calling for the government to reject further oil and gas exploration to prevent continued weather extremes.
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