The Green Party has said that today’s record-breaking temperatures must be a clarion call for climate action at home and abroad.Ciarán Cuffe, Green MEP for Dublin said: “In the last two days, we have seen the highest temperatures ever recorded in the UK at 40.3°C , in Scotland at 34.8 °C, and the highest ever in Dublin at 33.0 °C in Phoenix Park. The science is clear – this is no coincidence: climate change is our present, not our future."MEP Cuffe continued: “We urgently need action to save lives and mitigate the worst impacts of global warming. This requires:

• Increased investment in renewable energy, electricity interconnectors and grid expansion;
• A move to farming methods with reduced emissions and carbon sequestration;
• Investments in Active Travel, public transport, and continued fare reductions;
• Home upgrades with rooftop solar and heat pumps, starting with social housing."

“Lives will be lost unless we take urgent action now,” MEP Cuffe concluded.