homehome Home chatchat Notifications


'Shocking,' 'Plain Stupid': New British Prime Minister shuts down Climate Change Office

The UK seems hell bent on making unfortunate decissions.

Mihai Andrei
July 20, 2016 @ 7:40 pm

share Share

In a world struggling to preserve its sustainability and tackle on global warming, one major country seems uninterested: after announcing its intention to leave the European Union and electing a new Prime Minister, the UK has all but dissolved the public climate change office, a move which has been catalogued as “shocking” by many environmental agencies.

Theresa May has been appointed as the new British PM.

Theresa May has been elected as the UK’s prime minister in a rather undemocratic way: after the previous PM David Cameron resigned following the Brexit vote, the members of the ruling party (Conservative) elected a new leader, and the leader automatically became PM. Nevertheless, she is quite popular and is generally regarded as strong enough to manage the difficult times ahead. But at least on one point, she’s already failing dramatically, and that’s environmental. Less than a day after becoming the U.K.’s unelected leader, Prime Minister Theresa May closed the government’s climate change office, moving the responsibility over to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. That’s basically like telling a sheep to work in a wolf’s den.

“This is shocking news. Less than a day into the job and it appears that the new prime minister has already downgraded action to tackle climate change, one of the biggest threats we face,” said Craig Bennett, CEO of the environmental group Friends of the Earth.

“This week the government’s own advisors warned of ever growing risks to our businesses, homes and food if we don’t do more to cut fossil fuel pollution.”

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven joined him and said that there is a need for climate leadership, not for steps backwards.

“If we are to continue to have a key global role in environmental action, we need urgent reassurance from the new government that the hard won progress on climate and renewables targets, air pollution, and the protection of wildlife will not be sidelined or abandoned in the Brexit negotiations,” Sauven said.

At the moment, it’s unclear what impact this will have on respecting the Paris agreement.

share Share

The Earliest Titanium Dental Implants From the 1980s Are Still Working Nearly 40 Years Later

Longest implant study shows titanium roots still going strong decades later.

Common Painkillers Are Also Fueling Antibiotic Resistance

The antibiotic is only one factor creating resistance. Common painkillers seem to supercharge the process.

New Liquid Uranium Rocket Could Halve Trip to Mars

Liquid uranium rockets could make the Red Planet a six-month commute.

Scientists think they found evidence of a hidden planet beyond Neptune and they are calling it Planet Y

A planet more massive than Mercury could be lurking beyond the orbit of Pluto.

People Who Keep Score in Relationships Are More Likely to End Up Unhappy

A 13-year study shows that keeping score in love quietly chips away at happiness.

NASA invented wheels that never get punctured — and you can now buy them

Would you use this type of tire?

Does My Red Look Like Your Red? The Age-Old Question Just Got A Scientific Answer and It Changes How We Think About Color

Scientists found that our brains process colors in surprisingly similar ways.

Why Blue Eyes Aren’t Really Blue: The Surprising Reason Blue Eyes Are Actually an Optical Illusion

What if the piercing blue of someone’s eyes isn’t color at all, but a trick of light?

Meet the Bumpy Snailfish: An Adorable, Newly Discovered Deep Sea Species That Looks Like It Is Smiling

Bumpy, dark, and sleek—three newly described snailfish species reveal a world still unknown.

Scientists Just Found Arctic Algae That Can Move in Ice at –15°C

The algae at the bottom of the world are alive, mobile, and rewriting biology’s rulebook.