The UK is no stranger to flooding. The past few years in particular have exposed a large portion of the population to the effects of flooding, whether through direct destruction, disruption to travel, or issues with supply chains.

Unfortunately, the frequency of these stories is set to increase further still. But why is this happening? Is it all just an unfortunate series of coincidences, or evidence of a more significant problem arriving on the UK’s shores? 

There’s a lot of discourse at present regarding the benefits of businesses actively signposting their commitment to the climate crisis, and doing their bit to reduce the negative impact that modern life is having on the environment. Brands that want to attract consumers’ attention need to rethink their methods for sourcing ingredients, rework their distribution chains, and even reimagine the ways in which they clean, light, and heat their offices.

The green transition will cease in 2050. By the middle of the 21st century, the globe will be taking its first steps and breaths of complete carbon neutrality. It should be a more just world – of environmental justice, working environments, and living dignity. All the things that contribute to carbon neutrality should also contribute to a more just world. Or at least that’s the goal.

Statistics surrounding emissions and climate change reveal things at the same moment that they conceal things.

The latest big one: EU fossil fuel emissions are back to the levels of the 1960s. It’s an 8% drop in CO2 emissions from 2022. It’s the steepest recorded drop since the world halted in 2020 due to COVID-19. 

Cop28 had a lot of mixed emotions invested into it. The past few Climate Change Conferences hosted by the United Nations have come along with big promises, but incredibly limited results. While the 2 weeks are generally positive – times of concurrence and organisation as decision makers and world leaders unite on shared goals – the conference’s abilities to really create that pivotal, change-everything moment always proves much harder than merely getting world leaders to agree that change is needed.

The time for a quiet, insidious climate crisis has long since passed. Most of us remember a time when global warming was a threat on the distant horizon. While, in retrospect, that was never the case – it has always been a pressing issue, bearing down on the shoulders of policymakers and the general public – there was a time not too long ago when the true scope of the crisis slipped under the radar for many. 

The recent history of the climate crisis has seen its fair share of volatility. The past few years – and particularly the past 12 months – have seen plenty of big steps forward made by the UK government and collectively by policymakers from around the world. But there’s also been a fickle quality to that progress – a routine sense of backtracking and stalling, hesitation and vacillation over what really matters. This can be incredibly frustrating, but there are moments of breakthrough when the cloud cover seems to shift, and progress starts to feel real and tangible.

This time last year, we wrote a piece on the 2022 Earthshot Prize. Intended to bring together some of the most innovative minds and technologies in the sustainability sector, the prize was introduced by Prince William and David Attenborough with a view to transforming the conversation on climate change – replacing the bad news with promising stories of revival, rejuvenation, and hope. 

There’s nothing more quintessentially British than rolling green fields, dry stone walls, single-track lanes that wind up hills like coiled snakes, and sheep dotting the green with puffs of white. Farmland has been a prominent feature in this country since around 4,000BC and, besides the odd telephone pole, passing combine harvester or high-vis jacket, very little has changed.