POLITICIANS, business leaders and celebrities were urged to “listen to the science” at Britain’s first “national emergency briefing” on the climate and nature crisis today.

The event, held at Westminster Hall, was called by National Emergency Briefing, a group of experts in the field backed by organisations as diverse as the Royal Meteorological Society, the National Trust, the University of Reading and teaching union NEU.

Lancaster University’s Professor Mike Berners-Lee, panel chair, said: “Business as usual means normalising catastrophe — homes destroyed by flood and wildfire in Britain, price shocks, food shortages and a destabilised economy.

“We are drowning in fossil fuel misinformation, and it is no accident. Fossil fuel companies are spreading messages in the media and in Westminster designed to stall action.”

In the day’s keynote address, broadcaster and naturalist Chris Packham challenged attendees: “Why are we unbelievably pulling back on rapidly and forthrightly addressing the greatest crisis to ever threaten our species, climate breakdown and biodiversity loss?

“Climate denialism has been a mainstream thing again, thanks to the well-oiled machines of the rich, powerful and influential lobbyists from the fossil fuel and other industries.

“A dangerous wave of misinformation and lies fill our lives, but worse, it fills the lives of our decision makers and these are the people who shape policy.”

Calling on politicians to stand up to fossil fuel lobbyist who remain “significant contributors” to some parties’ coffers, he urged them to “listen to the science,” warning: “If you don’t, things go wrong and lives are lost.”

Referring to the Covid inquiry’s “devastating indictment of poor governance,” he added: “Failure to suppress the egos of government, their government departments and individuals, has cost lives.

“We have declared war on our one and only home, we’ve set or house on fire, so we, that’s you and I, that’s all of us, need to lead the UK on an immediate route to recovery.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who attended the summit, said the severity of the information presented was clear.

“This is an emergency, and needs to be treated as such,” he said.

He added that it was important to keep challenging vested interests which had spread misinformation for decades.