Climate Scientists Urge Backing for Manchester’s Carbon Neutrality Goal

Key Concerns Over New Oil Drilling

Leading climate scientists who created Greater Manchester’s carbon neutral by 2038 commitment are urging Andy Burnham to unequivocally reject new drilling in the North Sea. In a letter to the prime minister they said he, as mayor of Greater Manchester, had unveiled one of the UK's most ambitious local climate programmes that tackled housing, green growth and public transport.

The letter emphasizes the urgency of reducing global emissions by 8% annually to meet the Paris Agreement's upper limit of 2C. It points out that the scientific evidence supporting these goals has only strengthened since Burnham’s initial commitments, particularly in light of recent extreme weather events, including widespread moorland fires and unsafe air quality levels.

The academics urge Burnham to demonstrate the same commitment to evidence-based policies that characterized his leadership in Greater Manchester. They argue that future generations will judge him and other leaders on their ability to act consistently with these commitments, rather than justifying expanded fossil fuel production.

“Future generations will not judge governments by the ingenuity with which they justified expanding fossil fuel production,” the scientists wrote. “They will judge whether, when faced with unequivocal scientific evidence and clear international commitments, they had the courage and compassion to act in a manner consistent with the obligations they have freely entered into.”

Source: The Guardian