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Why the government’s 2050 net zero carbon target is not fit for purpose
2050 puts the state’s responsibility for action way too far back — and it's based on the most conservative estimates too. We need to address this as what it is: a crisis, argues IAN SINCLAIR

2019 was an extraordinary year for UK activism on the climate crisis. Extinction Rebellion’s April 2019 rebellion, the school strikes and David Attenborough’s BBC documentary Climate Change: The Facts all helped to radically shift public opinion. June 2019 polling from YouGov found “the public is more concerned about the environment than ever before.”

“The sudden surge in concern is undoubtedly boosted by the publicity raised for the environmental cause by Extinction Rebellion… and activism from Greta Thunberg during the same period,” Matthew Smith, YouGov’s lead data journalist, explained.

More concretely, the House of Commons declared a “climate emergency” in May 2019. Introducing the motion, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the recent climate activism had been “a massive and necessary wake-up call. Today we have the opportunity to say ‘we hear you’.”

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