British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has had 18 months - a year and a half - to appoint a new chair for the country's committee on tackling climate change. And he
continues to refuse to appoint one, month after month.
Experts are calling this failure "inexplicable." At this point, observers can only assume he must be trying to avoid oversight and criticism.
Sign the petition to demand Prime Minister Sunak finally appoint a new climate committee chair! He must prove that the UK is taking climate change seriously!According to The Guardian: "Senior environmentalists said they believed Sunak may be deliberately trying to avoid appointing a successor to Lord Deben," the previous committee chair. Why? Apparently the Prime Minister has completely abandoned his previous positions on tackling climate change - for example, by starting to side with oil and gas companies suddenly - and he doesn't want to face the consequences of that.
This committee is extremely significant. It was established after the 2008 Climate Change Act, with the goal of reducing the UK's greenhouse gas emissions, improving sustainability, and creating plans to help the nation anticipate and deal with the impacts of climate change. Now, not only is the chair position vacant - but the chief executive of the committee is stepping down, too.
As one anonymous government insider explained: "it is scandalous that a job like this has not been filled when climate change is supposed to be the most urgent question facing humanity."
There is absolutely no good reason for Prime Minister Sunak to continue to leave this incredibly important climate role vacant. He must fill this position immediately, to help the UK combat climate change and prepare for the fast-approaching future!