The Parliamentarians’ Guide to Climate Change

Climate change is an area fraught with disinformation, creating a vital need for reliable, accessible and trusted data and analysis. This guide has therefore been authored by a group of eminent scientists and policy leaders to provide MPs, peers and others in national and local government with an overview of the fundamentals of key aspects of climate science.

The consensus for climate action built amongst scientists, business, the public and politicians gives us the solid foundations needed for action. It is the basis on which we can work together to seek out the solutions and the opportunities that lie within what is an era defining challenge.

The assessments put forward underline how perilously close we are to irreversible tipping points in the natural world and the earth systems we rely on for a thriving planet. We hope that this analysis will inspire policy makers to act now, by delivering changes that we know can tackle climate change, reverse nature decline, catalyse exciting economic change and renewal, and recognise the need for fairness in the course of this transition.

It does not mean we will all agree on a single uncontested pathway to achieve our goals, or that there will not be difficult choices to be made. But we can show national and local leadership, across party lines, drawing on the power of innovation and the diversity of thought at our disposal, to get the job done, working in partnership with the scientific community.

We hope you will find the guide a useful reference, now and through the crucial years ahead.