As we bake in the fourth heatwave of the summer, and watch wildfires blaze out of control on the continent, many will have had a sense of deep disappointment at the new Prime Minister's reported willingness to sanction more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Couple this with the reversal by a number of local authorities of their previous climate emergency declarations and you might be forgiven for thinking that the game is up in terms of serious national and local responses to the most significant policy challenge we have faced in modern times.
If we look beyond the headlines, however, there's a more positive story to tell. Andy Burnham's new ministerial team at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is headed by one of his key allies Miatta Fahnbulleh, promotes Katie White, who has been a consistent champion of local action on climate change, and now includes Polly Billington, founder of UK100, the network of local authority leaders on climate and the natural environment.
