Please, Mr Hunt…

Dear Jeremy Hunt,

Last night, my wife and I watched the ‘final?‘ final episode of David Attenborough’s ‘Frozen Planet 2’. It was so called because it seems likely that the ice caps and glaciers will have been seriously depleted before another series can be made. Can we imagine the summer sea ice over the North Pole having almost vanished by 2035? And as for those huge, towering ice shelves on the edge of Antarctica – those are being melted into the warm sea underneath. It’s only a matter of time before they become part of the ocean. Many coastal cities, for example New York, will face serious flooding sooner than anyone thinks.

It isn’t fun being a penguin chick, with your downy feathers being soaked by freezing rain rather than dry snow. Nor a polar bear, forced to swim to Wrangel Island off the northern coast of Russia because there’s no sea ice. But neither is it fun being a hard-pressed parent or a care worker earning the minimum wage in modern day Britain, facing galloping food cost increases and catastrophic energy price rises. Many of us were appalled at your predecessor’s budget that seemed oblivious to the desperation of the less well-off and to our beleaguered planet. How could your party’s leadership debate have virtually side-lined climate change?

I believe you’re a thoughtful politician who will listen to advice, consult experts and make carefully considered decisions. In charting a new course for the economy, will you now set a budget with people and the planet in mind? Below I attached my letter to your senior colleagues. I’ve sent it separately along with its 16 signatures. Thank you for reading it.

Sincerely, John Hearson