Last Updated on 6 August 2026
Climate change becoming ever more visible
This summer could see the strongest El Niño weather pattern to date, characterised by record heat, droughts and forest fires across the Northern Hemisphere with severe impacts on agriculture and on a significant portion of the global population. During the May and June heatwaves alone, France and the UK recorded around 6,000 and 2,900 excess deaths respectively. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the strong El Niño is expected to further intensify in the August to October period. (https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/strong-el-nino-expected-intensify)
Aims of the National Emergency Briefing
To raise awareness about the impacts of climate change across the UK population and trigger national action, the National Emergency Briefing (https://www.nebriefing.org/expert-briefings) was held on 27 November 2025 in front of 1,200 politicians and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media. Ten of the UK’s leading experts presented evidence on the implications for the country’s health, food systems, national security and economy.
A 50-minute film combining the scientific content with reactions from members of the public was produced and is now being shown across the country with the aim to educate and engage the public. (https://www.nebriefing.org/screening-map) The objective of the non-partisan organisation is to push the government to deliver a prime-time, multi-channel televised national emergency briefing to the nation and trigger a science-led national emergency response.
The message in the film is stark. According to Professor Kevin Anderson, at the current trajectory 2°C of global warming is ‘highly likely by 2050’, and in his view there is a ‘very real possibility of 4°C by 2100’. This level of climate change would lead to an extreme and unstable climate, far beyond the safe zone that our civilisation grew up in, and would result in a ‘widespread breakdown of society, geopolitical instability and the loss of any meaningful global economy’.
Food security and rising food prices – food systems transformation essential
Three of the five worst cereal harvests on record in the UK occurred this decade. Over 80% of UK farmers say climate change seriously threatens their livelihoods. At the same time, we import 40–50% of our food, much of which is sourced from climate-stressed regions such as the Mediterranean. Extreme weather abroad now directly drives food prices and hardship at home.
Professor Paul Behrens believes that a food system transformation is unavoidable and can unlock significant benefits. This encompasses a shift to plant-rich diets, cutting waste, improving production and making our farming methods more resilient. Switching to a plant-rich diet is in his view the biggest lever for improving food security. Animal agriculture uses about 85% of the UK’s farmland. A move to plant-rich diets could cut agricultural emissions by about 60%, free up an area of land almost the size of Scotland, and allow the UK to feed more people from less land.
Tipping Points – potential failure of the AMOC
According to Professor Tim Lenton, the biggest risk for the UK is the failure of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This great ocean current keeps the UK’s climate mild. It is already weakening and could tip at around 2°C of warming. An AMOC tipping point would transform the UK into an unrecognisable place with winters of -20°C in London and –30°C in Edinburgh. At the same time there would also be hotter summers, combined with severe water shortages due to significantly lower rainfall and ‘would end large-scale agriculture in the UK’.
‘Near 2°C, the odds of crossing this tipping point are worse than Russian roulette. By around 3°C, it becomes more likely than not’.
‘Net zero is affordable, and it pays back’
Despite sobering outlook, some argue that taking action is too expensive. The opposite is true; the cost of inaction is much greater than the upfront costs to decarbonise our economy. According to Angela Francis, a policy expert in green economics, the annual investment in the UK needed represents around 0.2% of GDP and would be largely funded by the private sector, with clear long-term returns. China has taken an early lead in the key technologies required (such as batteries, electric vehicles, solar panel and increasingly wind turbines), but the UK still has a chance to play a significant role, which would support the creation of high-quality and well-paying jobs. The technology to decarbonise significant portions of our economy already exist, such as renewable power generation (particularly solar and wind energy coupled with battery storage), heating (heat pumps) and terrestrial transport (electric vehicles, including buses and lorries).
What can you do?
The NEB action points are not just for policy makers. Everyone must and can make a real difference.
7 personal action points
- Monitor your own CO2 footprint (there are several websites to choose from, e.g., https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/questionnaire)
- Eat more plant-based food, preferably in season and locally produced.
- Electrify your transport and heating and switch to 100% renewable energy
- Increase green travel – walk and cycle, ditch the plane for the train
- Use your vote to demand action from your representative on both a local and national level
- Move your money from banks that finance the fossil fuel industry
- Motivate another seven people to do the same
