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Climate change and the right to breathe clean air are rapidly rising up the political agenda in the United Kingdom. The ruling Conservative Party is now attempting to weaponize these issues as part of a toxic culture war to prevent action on climate.

As I write, the UK has just experienced its hottest ever night. It has literally also just smashed the record for the hottest day ever.

Despite record floods in Europe and massive wildfires in the Pacific NorthWest, Big Oil remains in denial over climate change.

The godfather of climate science, Dr James Hansen and fourteen environmental groups have called on the UK Government to “resolutely reject” the proposals to drill for oil and gas in the new Cambo field, which is west of Shetland, just months before the UK hosts the crucial COP 26 climate talks.

Some of the world’s worst polluting companies, including BP and Shell, have been regularly lobbying the UK Government offering money to be part of next year’s UN COP26 conference.

"Having exhausted every other option", the Green New Deal is "is the only kind of climate response that stands a chance of not going up in smoke.”

As the fires rage and Australia warms, it is only natural that Australians are becoming increasingly worried about climate change, droughts and floods. However, rather than recognize our climate emergency, the minister responsible for responding to drought and natural disasters in the country, David Littleproud, is a climate denier. He has said that that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”.

How much trouble do we need to be in, before we admit we are in trouble?

The disconnect between the need for action to reduce carbon emissions and the fossil fuel fantasy-land that Trump lives in, has never been greater.

"We are the ones in control right now, but once we go past 2 degrees, we see that the Earth system tips over from being a friend to a foe. We totally hand over our fate to an Earth system that starts rolling out of equilibrium."