Mousehold fires show why government must step up on climate change

Last Thursday, like tens of thousands of people across Norwich, I saw the thick smoke rising from what has been called Norwich’s “green lung”.

Mousehold Heath, a precious space, site of so much history, and beloved by residents across the city, was ablaze.

It wasn’t just Mousehold Heath.

For weeks my street WhatsApp chat has been full of concerned messages from my neighbours who could smell smoke — particularly after a garden at the end of my road went up in flames.

This is the new state that the UK is in.

Due to climate change, we can no longer think of ourselves as a wet, slightly chilly country.

And despite some political parties trying to stir up opposition to climate action, the vast majority of people, in Norwich, Norfolk and the country recognise the threat that the climate emergency poses.

Does the UK Government recognise that threat?

The day after the Mousehold fire — which was also a day when Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident due to the number of blazes they had to tackle — the Government sent out an emergency alert to all of our phones.

The alert urged people not to use disposable barbecues, fire pits or anything else that could start a fire.

The Government was right to send that warning.

With East Anglia in drought and exceptionally dry conditions across much of the country, a small fire could quickly become dangerous.

But urging people not to light fires, while needed, is not a sufficient response to the crisis we are facing now or will face in the even hotter, drier years to come.

The Climate Change Committee, the Government’s independent climate advisers, last year concluded that “we are not ready [and] indeed in many areas we are not even planning to be ready” to protect ourselves, our homes, and our land from the impacts of climate change.

The Committee added, “there has been no change in addressing this risk with the change in Government.”

We might say the same about the new Burnham Government.

The emergency meeting that Burnham called — after weeks of drought, lethal heatwaves and devastating fires — issued a temporary ban on disposable barbecues, but not much more.

Meanwhile, it has been nearly 40 years since the last reservoir was opened in East Anglia, a region that — as we all know all too well — is seriously water-stressed.

And, unbelievably, the Andy Burnham Government is considering expanding oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.

At a time when cities, towns and villages across the country are witnessing the devastating impacts of climate change, we should be rapidly accelerating the rollout of renewable energy, not focusing attention on extracting and burning more fossil fuels.

Of course, it will not be possible to switch off all oil and gas overnight, or to immediately restore our drained water supplies.

But the weight of this terrifying and sobering moment must fall behind an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels, and towards better preparedness for the difficult conditions that lie ahead.

This year will not be the last or even the worst heatwave — but I hope that by the time the next one comes, the Government will have looked beyond banning barbecues, and we will have a proper plan in place to protect ourselves and the places we live in and love.