No Department for Energy and Climate Change for you

Unbelievable. Teresa May has killed the climate change department.

The decision to abolish the Department for Energy and Climate Change has been variously condemned as “plain stupid”, “deeply worrying” and “terrible” by politicians, campaigners and experts.

One of Theresa May’s first acts as Prime Minister was to move responsibility for climate change to a new Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Only on Monday, Government advisers had warned of the need to take urgent action to prepare the UK for floods, droughts, heatwaves and food shortages caused by climate change.

Climate change is largely a product of business and energy and industry, and action on climate change tends to be antagonistic to many branches of business and energy and industry, so folding it into a Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is giving the hens a nice new dormitory inside a fox’s den.

To put it another way, Business shouldn’t be in charge of climate change.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted: “DECC abolition just plain stupid. Climate not even mentioned in new department title. Matters because departments shape priorities, shape outcomes.”

Craig Bennett, chief executive of Friends of the Earth, pointed out that a major report into the effects of climate change on Britain had made clear that it was already happening.

“This is shocking news. Less than a day into the job and it appears that the new Prime Minister has already downgraded action to tackle climate change, one of the biggest threats we face,” he said.

“This week the Government’s own advisors warned of ever growing risks to our businesses, homes and food if we don’t do more to cut fossil fuel pollution.”

But it’s only businesses, homes and food. No big deal.

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