Recent events and reports from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Joint Intelligence Committee have demonstrated that the UK faces profound threats to its national security. When we hear the phrase ‘national security threat’ we often think about conflicts or armies, but these two groundbreaking reports exposed an enemy that many don’t realise is threatening our safety: the collapse of the natural world.
The Prime Minister recently said that "resilience has been at the heart of my government's approach” but in the shadow of these two reports, it’s hard to believe. Britain has been shown, by the Climate Change Committee and other experts, to be deeply unprepared for the impacts of climate change. Millions of homes are at risk of flooding, food prices are being driven up by extreme weather, and high temperatures are taking lives. The new parliamentary session, starting on 13 May, must focus on urgent action from the Government to show it really does take resilience seriously.
Their own assessments warn that the breakdown of nature is fundamentally undermining our security. We need a National Security response. The truth is that although defence spending is rising, communities are less protected than ever. Without urgent action to restore the UK’s ecosystems these risks will only get worse: empty supermarket shelves, flooded homes, and an NHS pushed beyond breaking point. This is not a future for Britain we can accept. We know what must be done, but we need the Government to use the new session of parliament to deliver it. Zero Hour is calling on the Government to:
- Restore nature as a national security priority
- Urgently increase our adaptation for safer homes
- Deliver lasting energy security
Restoring Nature as security priority Nature underpins the UK’s national security. It regulates water storage, reduces flood risk, protects us from the impact of storms and extreme heat and enables soils to grow food. Our ecosystems are the backbone of our safety, economy and very existence. Yet, despite the alarm bells ringing for years, the UK remains one of the most nature depleted countries on earth.
Storms, floods, drought and wildfires are not going away, in fact, they are getting worse and more frequent. We must urgently restore nature to protect communities and recognise nature for what it is: critical infrastructure. Just as essential to our lives as our road, water and energy networks. We will be demanding the urgent action that the science demands to restore nature. Stronger adaptation for Safer Homes For too long the climate and nature crisis, despite the overwhelming evidence and repeated warnings, has been treated as a distant threat.
We are continuing to make decisions and build infrastructure with no agreed forecast for what climate to prepare for. The result? 6.3 million homes in England are at significant risk of flooding, and 30% of new homes built in the last three years are at risk. This is short-termism gone mad and its communities paying the price. We now have repeat flooded communities in the UK who face floods year-on-year and homes that are uninsurable. This can’t go on. That’s why we will be mobilising throughout the next session of parliament to ensure the Government starts cross-departmental emergency adaptation planning, and gives communities like yours the necessary resources and funding to protect our homes, food and health.
Delivering Energy Security With global conflicts rising and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, energy security is rightly at the forefront of everyone's minds. Our dependency on fossil fuels has once again been exposed, and despite what is being said across the British media, more ‘homegrown oil and gas’ is not the solution. This idea is being pushed by vested interests as a silver bullet solution, but you only need to look at their profits to understand why. BP, Shell and other major oil and gas companies are breaking records on the amount of money they are making due to Trump's war. Remember, it’s their pockets they care about, not our communities.
We must make sure that the Government doesn't bend to the pressure of oil and gas lobbyists. This is not the time to expand our production, it's time to double down on renewable energy and become a self-sufficient clean energy state. In this session of Parliament, the Government will be making their decision on Rosebank. And we will be campaigning in and outside Westminster to make sure they say no. We need real energy security, not the false future being sold in the media by oil and gas companies or the politicians they fund.
