UK's National Emergency Briefing - A Recap by Shooka Bidarian

Written by Shooka Bidarian, Northern Europe Regional Organizer, The Climate Reality Project Europe

On Thursday, 27 November, more than a thousand leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society came together in Westminster for a gathering unlike any the UK had hosted before.

The National Emergency Briefing set out to do something bold: cut through the noise of misinformation and present the country with the evidence of the escalating climate and nature emergencies already reshaping our lives. The Climate Reality Project Europe was proudly a partner of this special event.

Organizers of the National Emergency Briefing (Simon Oldridge, Prof. Mike Berners Lee, Nick Oldridge) | National Emergency Briefing panel | Audience member asking a question | National Emergency Briefing audience

Renting the main stage at Central Hall Westminster was a brave move by organisers Nick Oldridge and Simon Oldridge, yet the gamble paid off. The vast auditorium filled quickly, and MPs from across the political spectrum took their seats. Host Mike Berners-Lee opened with the central purpose of the day: to reset a national conversation that has been derailed by political hesitation and a rising tide of fossil fuel-backed disinformation.

Across the nine expert briefings, one message cut through clearly: the world is nowhere near the 1.5°C pathway agreed in Paris and the impacts are already severe. Professor Kevin Anderson warned that global emissions cuts required are far beyond anything currently on the table. He added that “it is now too late for a non-radical future,” underscoring that profound shifts in social norms are now unavoidable.

Green economic policy expert Angela Francis highlighted that the barriers slowing progress are structural. Current market rules are not delivering the outcomes needed, and the old economic system is not making way for the new. She stressed that real financial returns from net zero are possible, the real challenge is not cost, but the willingness to invest now for long-term national benefit.

Others connected the dots between climate breakdown and national security. Former senior British Army officer, Lt. General Richard Nugee described how soaring temperatures in conflict zones have already proven deadlier than enemy fire, stressing that the UK’s infrastructure is dangerously ill-prepared for the extremes ahead. “Climate change will be a bigger threat than Russia,” he warned, urging policymakers to recognise the vulnerabilities that adversaries may exploit.

Prof. Paul Behrens (British Academy Global Professor and expert in food system transformations) |Prof. Tim Lenton (Founding Director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter) | Prof. Mike Berners Lee (Expert in carbon footprinting at Lancaster University, writer and National Emergency Briefing Chair) | Angela Francis (Green economic policy expert)

Others underscored a single, unifying message: the UK is entering an interconnected polycrisis affecting food, health, energy, and security. Incremental steps will not match the scale of the challenge. Only deep, rapid, and socially fair systemic changes can avert a chaotic future.

This event is just a beginning, as the organisers are calling on the UK Government and all Public Broadcasters to hold an urgent televised National Emergency Briefing for the public, and to run a comprehensive public engagement campaign so that everyone understands the profound risks this crisis poses to themselves and their families. They are calling on everyone to sign the letter to get this to happen - https://www.nebriefing.org/open-letter-keir

As the Columbian delegation at COP30 said the transition away from fossil fuel is inevitable - but the speed at which we do it will determine the impacts including lives lost across the world. This accelerating crisis demands honesty, ambition, and collective responsibility — not half-measures or delay. Every year of inaction narrows our options. Our task now is to confront misinformation head-on, anchor decisions in science, and push urgently for the sweeping changes needed to secure a fairer and more resilient future.