National Emergency Briefing: Opening statement

National Emergency Briefing – opening statement and introduction

Chris Packham’s opening statement was a sharp reminder of the reasons why a National Emergency Briefing is necessary, not just because of the crises themselves, but because of the reasons why they aren’t recognised or taken seriously. The deadly combination of disinformation and the fossil fuel money behind this, combined with the self-importance of politicians who choose to ignore scientific evidence, has left us facing the destruction of our world.

He left open the possibility of courage and hope redefining the future, even as the window for change closes, and this was a theme picked up by Mike Berners-Lee, who emphasised the ‘National’ and ‘Emergency’ nature of the Briefing. He also picked up on the theme that we need to know fully what is wrong, referencing James Baldwin ‘Nothing can be changed until it is faced’.

The Briefing starts with where we are now: the nature crisis, the climate crisis, extreme weather and tipping points; then goes on to look at societal impacts not yet openly recognised in the UK (food, health and national security) and the implications for the economy and a just energy transition. World experts in each field present up to date evidence, and, importantly, join the dots between their fields – this is a systemic problem, with systemic challenges and perhaps opportunities.