By Colin Fernandez Science Correspondent For The Daily Mail
Published: 08:26 BST, 17 April 2019 | Updated: 10:15 BST, 17 April 2019
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Climate change is a bigger problem than Brexit as 'it could literally kill us', the head of the Environment Agency warned yesterday.
Sir James Bevan said climate change was 'much more important' than Brexit and it was time to focus on tackling climate change.
But there were many lessons we could learn from Brexit - including planning for climate change the way businesses planned for a no-deal Brexit.
He also said building a 'broad coalition' against climate change could help heal a divided country.
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Climate change is a bigger problem than Brexit as 'it could literally kill us', the head of the Environment Agency warned yesterday. Sir James Bevan said climate change was 'much more important' than Brexit and it was time to focus on tackling climate change (file photo)
He said in the speech to a charity, the Whitehall and Industry Group: 'You can worry about Brexit if you want, but you'll be worrying about the wrong thing.
'If you rank the things that could literally kill us on a scale of one to ten, Brexit isn't even a one. Climate change is a ten.'
Sir James added that there were similarities between Brexit and climate change in that the timescales of both are 'uncertain' and 'the consequences highly contested'.
Sir James, a career diplomat and former High Commissioner to India before becoming the chief executive of the Environment Agency in 2015, said the increase in greenhouse gases would lead to rising seas, water shortages extreme weather, flooding, coastal erosion and droughts'.
The Environment Agency, which has more than 11,000 employees, is the government funded body in charge of protecting air, water and soil quality, and flood protection.
Sir James said climate change would 'utterly' change our politics, adding 'as people demand action from their leaders on what may become the only issue that matters. Our world
