General election 2019: Why you should think climate change not Brexit

Brexit may seem important right now, but whoever wins the election will be in charge halfway to 2030 – a crucial time in efforts to limit dangerous warming, says Jacob Aron

By Jacob Aron

BREXIT, Brexit, Brexit. UK politics has been dominated by little else since the country’s 2016 vote to leave the European Union. The upcoming general election on 12 December may finally break the impasse, but a far bigger issue overshadows this vote: climate change.

Environmental issues have risen up the UK’s political agenda recently, buoyed by concern about plastics in the ocean and publicity surrounding climate protests by Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg’s school strikes. A continuing spate of extreme weather events, most recently record-breaking rainfall and flooding in parts of central and northern England, has brought the practical implications of a changing climate to …