Eton College has been urged to refund Jacob Rees-Mogg’s school fees after the Tory MP talked down the effects of climate change on his GB News show.
Europe’s highest human rights court has ruled its member nations must protect their citizens from the consequences of climate change in a landmark ruling that sided with a group of 2,000 Swiss women against their government.
The case could now have implications across the continent.
The court — which is unrelated to the European Union — faulted Switzerland for not giving sufficient protection to the Senior Women for Climate Protection, whose average age is 74 and who argued that older women are most vulnerable to the extreme heat that is becoming more frequent.
The court said the country “had failed to comply with its duties” to combat climate change and meet emissions targets.
That, the court ruled, constituted a violation of the women’s rights, noting that the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees people “effective protection by the state authorities from the serious adverse effects of climate change on their lives, health, well-being and quality of life”.
Responding to the ruling on GB News, Rees-Mogg said a bit of warming could be good for people, prompting a shocked reaction from people on social media.
Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts.
Not only does that impact people’s livelihoods, it also significantly impacts areas such as agriculture and our ability to grow food.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned this week that record rain in the UK is contributing to a crisis in the farming sector, with bad weather adding to soaring costs of inputs.
NFU vice president Rachel Hallos has warned consumers could see the effects because produce “simply doesn’t leave the farm gate”.
Farmers said heavy rain battering the country since October 2023 has left agricultural land saturated, and often still under water, with arable farmers unable to plant spring crops and losing winter planting
It is also hitting livestock farmers, with a “bleak attrition rate” for lambs born this spring.
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