EXTREME weather with fires in the summer and floods in the winter, food shortages, with harvests failing every other year, poor health and growing poverty are all consequences of the climate crisis the world now faces.

These are some of the stark facts presented in the National Emergency Briefing film being shown across the land.

The film, hosted by naturalist Chris Packham, shows a briefing presented at Westminster Central Hall.

The briefing saw experts from several fields address different aspects of the crisis. These included weather, biodiversity, security, health, economics, tipping points and transition.

There was then discussion after each segment, with the likes of Deborah Meaden, Jennifer Saunders, Koni Haq and members of the public.

The message was stark, namely that time is running out. Some dramatic change is needed in the way that humans live on the planet.

The statistics were alarming, such as that one in four homes in the UK (eight million) will be at risk of flooding by 2050. Food insecurity will increase, with food price inflation growing due to extremes of weather. A third of food price inflation was due to extremes of weather in 2023.

Britain’s green and pleasant land will be no more, with extremes of cold and wet in the winter, followed by intense heat (40°C-plus) in the summer becoming the norm.

There was an upside to this largely doomsday scenario. This envisaged a major transition away from fossil fuels dependency. More renewable energy sources making Britain more secure, with cheaper energy and food.

“Flood absorbing parks, cooler greener cities, better insulation and resilient infrastructure protect people, cut bills, improve health and create skilled jobs,” said Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University, who cited the example of Copenhagen that has reinvented itself as a sponge city.

What the film did not tackle was the role of the climate deniers in destroying the planet. Those among the political classes, who oppose net-zero policies, denying what is happening, despite the evidence all around. It is an Alice in Wonderland approach of simply denying the science of what is happening if you don’t like it.

What is more such an approach — as typified by Trump’s US, where wind turbines are being destroyed to restore fossil fuel sourced energy — is economically backward.

China is leading the charge on renewables, with growing amounts of its energy coming from that source. It also supplies 80 per cent of the world’s solar panels and over half of the electric vehicles.

China is moving totally away from fossil fuels, which are not only damaging the planet but becoming the most expensive way of supplying energy. It is not doing this out of some sense of altruism but because it makes economic and rational sense.

In this area, Trump’s policies will once again ultimately make the US poorer again.

The recently elected Reform councils pledged to go back to the future by reversing environmental measures, will soon find this costs more money. The penny has to drop sometime that net zero is the only way forward.

The National Briefing Film is a great tool to communicate the nature of the crisis and the need for urgent action. Organisers want the film to be shown in community groups across the country, with MPs and councillors invited. The ultimate goal is to get a one-hour screening of the film on TV.

What is for sure is that urgent action is needed. This is a worsening crisis, not another view on climate. Positive things are happening in this country at local and national level but everything has to happen more quickly. The upside is more jobs, security, cheaper energy and food plus a better life. The alternative is the end of life as we know it.

For more information visit www.nebriefing.org.