by Darcy White
A short film on the environmental crisis, People’s Emergency Briefing, is touring the UK. It is being screened in public spaces to get people talking. It was shown in Sheffield last week to an audience of around 250 plus a panel of local figures: (pictured below, from left to right, Cllr Ruth Abbey; Jonathan Hind (SY Ecofit); Sarah Llewellyn (Parents for Future); retired GP Dr Mike Tomson (Greener Practice); and Olivia Blake MP.
The film addresses 7 themes: climate and weather, nature, food security, health, national security, the economy, and energy.
The opening images resemble a disaster movie: heat waves, droughts, wildfires, extreme floods; yet the effects of climate change that we are now experiencing will be “the least extreme weather that we will know in our lifetime”.
The experts featured in the film delivered stark messages
We must eliminate fossil fuels, “or the temperatures will just keep going up”. We can no longer “produce and consume in a way that doesn’t factor in the environment”.
Nature must be considered in any national security planning; “it underpins our very existence”. If we don’t act very quickly, we will soon be facing widespread harvest failures; at least one year in every three, leading to scarcity and price rises. “When families can’t afford to feed their children, society breaks down”.
Rising temperatures are “really, really, really, really bad for health” and “without a functioning economy we cannot have a functioning health system”.
An MOD spokesperson said: with “crises cascading together” we have the “potential of an ungovernable state”.
Here’s what the panellists said
“Seeing all the different elements together – all the implications all at once was really powerful … People want change and are asking for change … I’m hearing it loud and clear” (OB).
The lack of meaningful action is “maddening because there are so many solutions” (RL).
People are angry about the “sheer amount of rubbish on our streets” but “if we didn’t all consume so much, we wouldn’t create so much rubbish” (RA).
“We need a far more fundamental change in the system – but prompt action will make us all richer, healthier and happier” (MT).
In the face of what is happening, it is natural to be distressed; “we forget how much agency we have” (JH). Here, there was consensus: “join a group”, “get involved”, “spread the word” and “take action”. Dr Mike Tomson agreed: “Taking action with other people is better than any antidepressant. ”
Four of the panellists reflected on the evening immediately after the event.
The Climate Choir performed as people arrived.
To find out more about the People’s Emergency Briefing, visit
https://www.nebriefing.org/peb
For local links to all things connected to the People’s Emergency Briefing, visit
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