The National Emergency Briefing was an event held in London on 27 November 2025, where a set of climate and nature briefings was given to an invited audience including politicians.
There were many good points made in the briefings about the gravity of the situation, and the extreme urgency of action.
However there were some significant omissions:
- in discussion of the reasons for the lack of progress
- insufficient emphasis was placed on the inadequacy of the UK Government's Net Zero 2050 timescale of emission cuts
- there was no mention of the endorsement of this inadequate timescale by most UK climate campaigners
- there was no discussion of the aim of climate action, i.e. which temperature target(s) is the basis of action.
There was a cucial inconsistency between
- some of the briefings pointing out the inadequacy of the UK Net Zero 2050 timescale
- other briefings endorsing the Net Zero 2050 timescale.
This is a major flaw in the messaging - it means that the briefings add to the existing abundant climate misinformation and confusion, and that critics will be able to say that the policies discussed are not in line with the science, and that the figures don't add up.
Action is needed to correct the omissions and inconsistencies in the briefings:
- there needs to be acceptance of past errors of climate campaigning
- there needs to be clarity over whether it is radical transformation or gradual transition that is needed - is the situation an emergency or not (the science says it is an emergency)
- there should be a consensus statement supporting the Tyndall Centre scientists who are rejecting Net Zero 2050 as inadequate and carbon colonialism, and advocating a fundamental rethink of UK climate policy based on scientific rigour and international justice
- the briefings advocating a gradual transition need to be replaced by ones detailing emergency transformation.
In conclusion, the event was a great start, but further publicity should be paused until the omissions and inconsistencies have been corrected.
The National Emergency Briefing
The National Emergency Briefing was an event held in Westminster Central Hall, London on 27 November 2025, where a set of climate and nature briefings was given to an invited audience of over 1,200 including politicians.
The speakers and briefings were
- Chris Packham: Opening statement [1]
- Prof Mike Berners-Lee (Chair): Introduction [2]
- Prof Nathalie Seddon: Nature [3]
- Prof Kevin Anderson: Climate [4]
- Prof Hayley Fowler: Weather Extremes [5]
- Prof Tim Lenton: Tipping Points [6]
- Prof Paul Behrens: Food Security [7]
- Prof Hugh Montgomery: Health [8]
- Lt General Richard Nugee: National Security [9]
- Angela Francis: Economics [10]
- Tessa Khan: Energy Transition [11]
Further details are available on the website for the event:
https://www.nebriefing.org.
Key points made
Some of the key points made were
- nothing can be changed until it is faced
- the situation is very serious
- action has been grossly inadequate
Significant omissions
In discussion of the reasons for the lack of progress in eliminating fossil fuels, there was discussion of fossil fuel lobbyists, but
- insufficient emphasis was placed on the inadequacy of the UK Government's Climate Change Committee and its advice of the Net Zero 2050 timescale of emission cuts
- there was no mention of the endorsement of this inadequate timescale by the overwhelming majority of UK climate campaigners, for example, Friends of the Earth.
Furthermore, there was no discussion of the aim of climate action, i.e. which temperature target(s) should be considered.
Crucial inconsistency: Is it an emergency or not?
There was a cucial inconsistency between
- some of the briefings pointing out the inadequacy of the UK Net Zero 2050 timescale
- other briefings endorsing the Net Zero 2050 timescale.
This is a major flaw in the messaging - it means that the briefings add to the existing abundant climate misinformation and confusion, and that critics will be able to say that the policies discussed are not in line with the science, and that the figures don't add up.
Action needed
Action is needed to correct the omissions and inconsistencies in the briefings:
- there needs to be acceptance of past errors of climate campaigning
- there needs to be clarity over whether it is radical transformation or gradual transition that is needed - is the situation an emergency or not (the science says it is an emergency)
- there should be a consensus statement supporting the Tyndall Centre scientists who are rejecting Net Zero 2050 as inadequate and carbon colonialism, and advocating a fundamental rethink of UK climate policy based on scientific rigour and international justice [12]
- the briefings advocating a gradual transition need to be replaced by ones detailing emergency transformation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the event was a great start, but further publicity should be paused until the omissions and inconsistencies have been corrected.
References
| [2] | Mike Berners-Lee (2025) NEB Introduction: Transcript |
Started: 28 Jan 2026 0
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