Last updated:
12 Aug. 2026
Gareth Redmond-King, International analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: “The new Prime Minister sets off on his cost-of-living tour of the UK during what looks likely to be the UK’s hottest summer so far. He’ll be surveying a brown and parched land, barren fields pointing to likely one of the worst harvests on record. [2] Food prices are being driven up by climate change, with farmers predicting worse is yet to come, as climate extremes around the world also hit the two fifths of our food we import from overseas, jacking up already high prices. This is before a particularly strong El Niño has been factored into the equation, which will simply throw fuel on the climate change flames.
“The May and June heatwaves killed 2,877 people – more than 1,100 of those deaths directly attributable to the extra heat added by greenhouse gas emissions, principally caused by burning fossil fuels. [3] Calls are mounting on the Government to come up with plans, and indeed until we reach net zero emissions to bring our climate back into balance, all of the heatwaves, floods and drought will continue to get ever more severe. And tragically, the death toll will continue to rise.”