James Lawson is one of Somerset’s Members of Youth Parliament and a big advocate for the environment. In this article he comments on the impact of legislative changes to climate change.
There have been several important changes that have been in the news lately, among them is new legislation that the Prime Minister says will cut the overseas aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% by 2027, in-order-to fund increased defence spending.
Although this may not appear to affect climate change at first, it’s important to remember that much of the funding put towards global aid was spent on climate relief. By cutting overseas aid, this relief cannot be given to low-income countries. This means that when climate disasters like famine and drought hit, people must leave their homes to survive.
Ironically, many backers of this bill have been unhappy about the numbers of refugees seeking asylum in the UK, but by cutting overseas aid and climate relief, more and more people will be forced to travel to higher income countries just to survive. It is essential that we do not cease spending on helping the victims of climate change. Historically our country has been one of the largest contributors towards climate change. Surely, we have a responsibility to help those most affected?
I believe that to be able to afford the increase in defence spending it would be much better to increase taxes for oil and gas companies who do not invest in renewable energy. This brings me on to my next point, British Petroleum (BP) are moving back to their oil and gas focus, scrapping renewable energy initiatives. Quite simply this is a travesty, because it seems that on the face of it, it seems that they are making this move to earn shareholders more money. I could be wrong but either way the ordinary people who have to pay for energy will most likely suffer an increase in prices because renewables are widely regarded as being cheaper than fossil fuels.
Furthermore, with more of a renewed focus on fossil fuels, more and more pollution from burning gas and the use of petrol in cars will be released, which again contributes to and worsens climate change.
These have been more things in the news this week that have made me think – what do you think?
I will make more articles commenting on them over the coming weeks.
James
Somerset Youth Parliament campaigns
Each Member of Youth Parliament works on a campaign during their term, which is supported by their Deputies and the Advisory Group. It allows us to understand what changes young people want to see in the communities they live in and makes sure that those views are heard by Somerset’s decision makers.
To find out more about our Member of Youth Parliament’s campaigns visit our Campaigns page.
