Officer Trustees attend National Emergency Briefing in Westminster
Sabbatical officers from Imperial College Union attended a climate briefing in Westminster Central Hall on Thursday 28th November.
The National Emergency Briefing was a presentation by ten experts on the threats posed by the climate crisis and the appropriate policy response. Over 80 members of Parliament were in attendance, alongside elected officials, business leaders and NGOs.The organisers invited attendees to sign an open letter to the government calling for the broadcast of an “urgent televised national emergency briefing for the public”.
Sarah Azam, President of Imperial College School of Medicine Students’ Union, said “Climate change is a subject far too many of us shy away from, and hearing experts describe how bleak our future looks was undeniably sobering. Professor Montgomery’s briefing on health hit hard. Drawing on his experiences as an Intensive Care Consultant, he made it starkly clear that we are not only facing a climate crisis but a health crisis too. He argued that society focuses too much on ‘risks’ while failing to acknowledge the ‘hazards’ already unfolding.”
Tom Gordon, Deputy President for Activities, added: “To me, the most striking warnings were about the risks of inaction: severe natural disasters – like the 2024 Valencia floods – could become a UK reality, and simultaneous shocks to food, health, infrastructure, migration and energy could hit us together, stretching our ability to cope beyond current capacity. Climate change may seem gradual, but I worry its consequences could overwhelm us faster than we are prepared for.”
Asked by Felix about the action students can take, Nico Henry, the Union President, said: “Check out Imperial’s ‘9 things you can do about climate change’, which range from using your voice to reducing your meat intake. And most importantly, educate yourself; the Grantham Institute has a very good online introduction to climate change.”
