Image courtesy of the National Emergency Briefing….

 

We are grateful to Raquel White for her guidance:

The primary aim of the National Emergency Briefing (NEB) film is to compel the UK government to publicly broadcast a prime-time, televised briefing detailing the true scale of the climate and nature crisis, and to prompt World War Two-scale emergency action. I hope that local MPs will push for this.

 

“Positivitying up” the true extent of the climate crisis and what social collapse will look like is dangerous because it often fosters complacency, delays necessary action, and leaves society unprepared for the severe consequences some of which we are starting to experience. Misleading people to suggest that problems are manageable through small incremental changes is dangerous.

The narrative that individual lifestyle choices are the primary solution to the climate crisis was systematically manufactured through a coordinated, multi-decade strategy involving fossil fuel PR campaigns, think tank framing, government policy avoidance, and media amplification. By transforming a systemic, industrial issue into a test of personal virtue, these entities successfully shifted public accountability from corporate polluters to the everyday people. It’s a narrative that also makes people think there is no hope as they are trapped in the capitalist system and, being by part of it, it’s their fault. So they give up and don’t question the real driving factors or go after the people driving the false narrative for profit over planet and people.

 

Fossil fuel companies realised that, as climate change science became undeniable, they needed to redirect public anger away from extraction and toward consumption.

 

Prompting individuals to measure their personal emissions from commuting, heating, and eating brilliantly centred consumers in the climate story. If the planet was warming, the campaign implied it was because you drove to work or left a light on, completely ignoring that the underlying energy infrastructure left consumers with no other viable choices.

 

Media outlets heavily popularised “eco-shaming.” News stories frequently focused on whether climate activists fly on planes, eat meat, or use plastic utensils. This established a false paradigm: unless an individual lives a perfectly carbon-neutral life in a system built on fossil fuels, they have no right to demand systemic change.

Faced with intense industry lobbying, many governments sadly find it politically easier to encourage voluntary consumer adjustments than to pass aggressive corporate regulations.
After watching this screening I imagine that most people will feel quite overwhelmed by its content, so I guess the question is what now?
For me, I want to believe that all political parties will pull together to tackle this with the war time spirit needed, recognising it for the emergency it is. If they don’t, we will fail to mitigate against the worst of what is coming. The National Emergency Briefing is giving our Councillors and MPs an opportunity to turn the tide on the lack of meaningful progress on climate action and environmental  protections but, as we see from the recent heatwaves and wildfires, tipping points are already being reached.