By Chris Davey
Global warming. Climate change. Climate crisis. Climate emergency. Climate breakdown. They all describe what is happening, but the key word here is “emergency”.
That’s why the National Emergency Briefing (NEB), held on 27 November 2025, was so named. I mentioned this before, but now for me, this has become a bit different. I went back and listened to all the presentations again. Actually that is not strictly accurate; I confess I had skipped some bits last time, thinking somewhat arrogantly, that “I know most of that stuff.” Listening to all of them right through (twice!) was rewarding. I heartily recommend it.
The presentations:
Opening statement by Chris Packham, Naturalist
Intro by event chair, Mike Berners-Lee, Professor in Practice, University of Lancaster
Nature by Nathalie Seddon, Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford
Climate by Kevin Anderson, Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the Universities of Manchester, Uppsala and Bergen
Weather Extremes by Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change Impacts, University of Newcastle
Tipping Points by Tim Lenton, Professor of Climate Change and Earth Systems Science, University of Exeter
Food Security by Paul Behrens, British Academy Global Professor at Oxford Martin School
Health by Hugh Montgomery, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine
National Security by Lt Gen Richard Nugee, British Army (retired)
Economics by Angela Francis, WWF-UK Director of Policy Solutions
Energy Transition by Tessa Khan, Executive Director of Uplift [https://www.upliftuk.org/]
My small selection of key points:
- Nothing can be changed until it’s faced; we must face climate breakdown
- The transition away from coal, oil, and gas, must be done fairly
- What we are seeing now is the least extreme weather we shall see in our lifetimes
- There are existing threats to our national security; climate change is a threat multiplier
- Current economic systems promote nature loss
- Cutting fossil fuel use isn’t enough – we must eliminate it.
The full briefing is well worth the time spent going through it. At each individual presentation on the website there is a list of some key points, and a full transcript. Go to https://www.nebriefing.org/ and click on Expert Briefings.
