Better late than never

Despite all expectations, it seems as though there might actually be a positive aspect to Theresa May's legacy as Prime Minister: she's committing the UK to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero by 2050. The move is in line with the recommendation that the Committee On Climate Change made last month, and sets us in even starker contrast to the US. What's more, the BBC's Roger Harrabin argues that the pledge is unlikely to be affected by the Tories' change of leadership, with most of the hopefuls also behind it.

The decision to set the target is a poke in the eye for Philip Hammond, who recently warned that it could cost £1 trillion to achieve - a figure that failed to factor in the related financial gains but most importantly ignored the fact that the environmental crisis is so pressing as to render economic considerations practically nul and void.

Sceptics and experts are quoted in the BBC article saying that there are significant challenges and impediments to meeting the target, there remains a threat that we'll abandon it if other countries don't follow suit, and May is clinging to the distinctly dubious idea that "a cleaner, greener form of growth" is possible. But in the midst of the Brexit/Tory leadership contest shitshow, let's just take a moment to celebrate the simple fact that a commitment has been made, and what that might signify: a government that is perhaps finally beginning to take climate change and means of mitigating its most damaging impacts as seriously as they deserve.