Zack Polanski brands climate crisis ‘biggest threat since Second World War’ and demands ‘full-scale emergency response’ from Andy Burnham

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has branded the climate crisis the ‘biggest threat to this country since the Second World War’ in a major speech today (August 5).

Polanski’s intervention comes off the back of a series of scorching heatwaves in the UK which have seen record-breaking temperatures and wildfires across the country.

He said at an event at Church House in Westminster: “Today, I’m delivering a reality check. We are facing the biggest threat to this country since the Second World War. I’m setting out what prime minister Burnham can do now to tackle the crisis and I am challenging him to act with the urgency we need.”

In his speech, Polanski argued that the scale of the climate crisis was risking people’s safety, threatening food and water security, and putting the UK’s way of life in jeopardy.

Polanski told the event: “Alost 3,000 people have died from the effects of extreme heat this summer – and we know that older people, and those with pre-existing conditions are particularly at risk from these dangerous temperatures.”

He went on to say: “Meanwhile, wildfires have seen hundreds evacuated from their homes while many thousands more wait anxiously with flames on the horizon and smoke in their lungs.”

On food and water security, Polanski said that flooding and drought have “decimated crops”, that “food production is grounding to a halt”, and that eight water reservoirs were “at risk of running dry”. He blamed the latter on the privatisation of water, saying “privatised water companies – they’ve failed to build a single new reservoir since 1992, [and] are losing nearly three billion litres of water a day from leaky pipes.”

He concluded his description of the crisis by saying that there was a threat to “our very way of life”. Polanski warned that parents are “unable to take their children to the playground because the slides are so hot they could burn their skin off”, that people were being kept “inside for days for the sake of our health” turning cities into “ghost towns”.

Later in the speech, Polanski accused the government of a response which is “to pretend none of this is happening”, and argued this was an “astonishing dereliction of duty” to keep the public safe.

As a result, Polanski called for the prime minister Andy Burnham to introduce a ‘full-scale emergency response’.

What should that response look like? Polanski said that there were three key policy proposals Burnham should adopt.

First, Polanski said there needs to be significant mitigation against the impacts of extreme heat on people, including through introducing “a free accessible cool space in every local” and “financial support for households so they can heat proof their homes”.

Second, Polanski called for a “robust wildfire prevention strategy”. According to Polanski, this means a “fire service with the resources it needs to tackle blazes when they come”, including “firefighting helicopters”, funded by increased taxation on fossil fuel firms, which Polanski accused of “profitting from fuelling these infernos”.

Finally, Polanski used his speech to repeat his call for water to be brought back into public ownership. He said: “To secure our water supply, prevent drought and protect our food system – we need to bring water back into public hands. Right now, money is flowing out of our hands into the pockets of shareholders – just like water is flowing out of those companies’ leaky pipes in the middle of a drought. Every single penny households pay for their water needs to go back into strengthening our infrastructure, building new reservoirs and protecting us from the droughts of the future.”

Later in the speech, Polaski also went on to call for the government to rule out any new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea, including at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.

He said: “If we are to secure a livable future for our children and for our grandchildren, there can be no new drilling for oil and gas. On this, the science is crystal clear. As politicians, we have a moral responsibility to do what is right for the people we serve even when it’s not politically convenient.”

He then added: “I hope you will have the courage to be truthful, be brave and hold firm to your party’s commitment to no new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, including both Rosebank and Jackdaw.”

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward