Open letter from Earth Strike to all who fear for the future of our climate.

The appointment of Jacob Rees-Mogg as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, should set the alarm bells ringing for the future of our climate, as it signifies the abandonment of even the paper-thin promises set by the British government to honour calls for a transition to Net Zero outlined by the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change).

Rees-Mogg is not just a climate change denier, he actively pursues policies that will pour millions into the pockets of fossil fuel companies at the expense of our climate and our future.

As minister for the environment he is building barriers to the transition to green energy, while benefiting personally from fossil fuels through his network of companies and contacts. In his own words Rees Mogg wants to “cut the green crap” and pump “every last drop” of oil and gas from the North Sea.

If there were any doubts of the direction taken by the new Tory government under Liz Truss, they made it clear from the outset that this administration will lift all restraints on the fossil fuel industry.

The Tories used the mourning period for the Queen to sneak through the lifting of the moratorium on fracking — a particularly damaging and poisonous exploitation of shale gas — as well as tearing up any constraint imposed on the industry, such as measures designed to halt production if fracking sets off earthquakes.

Add to that the disastrous policies on sewage pollution of our rivers and coastlines, plans to allow coal mining, the abandonment of all targets needed for even minimum requirements to combat the ongoing climate catastrophe, as well as a raft of legislation to suppress the right to protest and laws designed to hamstring our unions, it has become clear that this Tory government has declared war on ordinary people, workers and the environment.

Earth Strike will join with all organisations, community campaigns, climate movements, trades unions and others to oppose Liz Truss and Rees-Mogg. Theirs is a government without mandate pursuing policies designed to fill the pockets of a tiny minority at the expense of ordinary people, our environment and the global climate.

We are calling on all our friends in the movement to bring together the mass of organisations, activists and campaigners to set out a national campaign to halt in its tracks this government’s disastrous policies, as well as setting out alternate plans for a just transition towards a sustainable future.

Join us on 10 October in a protest outside the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) against the new anti-union laws threatened by Truss and Rees-Mogg which will make it even more difficult to stand up against their greedy and destructive policies!