Heatwave deaths show Burnham must prioritise nature, charity bosses say

In an exclusive opinion piece for LBC, five charities are calling on Andy Burnham's government to ensure that people across the UK have access to adequate green space, and warning that a recent action plan to protect 30% of the UK's land and sea for nature in four years' time won't be enough.

Planting trees and plants offers protection against extreme heat but 'unfair distribution' means some parts of the country are suffering more than others, furthering regional inequality, say the charity bosses.

Shade provided by tree canopies can lower the temperature we experience by 8C, but the average UK urban area is just 18% tree-covered and 11m people in the UK are living in “tree deserts” with less than 10% tree cover, according to the Woodland Trust.

Read more: The £1.6tn gamble facing Andy Burnham

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Nature is "as necessary to our lives as transport and utilities," they argue.

"It not only cools our ever-heating country, but it provides the food, water and economic security on which we all depend. It underpins our health too, not only during times of extreme heat, but all year round. With an overburdened NHS and an ageing population, Andy Burnham must look to the long-term health gains and savings to the NHS - estimated to be around £2bn a year - that will come from extending access to nature."

The leaders making the call are Hilary McGrady, Director-General of the National Trust; Beccy Speight, Chief Executive at the RSPB; Craig Bennett, Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts; Dr Darren Moorcroft, Chief Executive at The Woodland Trust; Richard Benwell, Chief Executive of Wildlife and Countryside Link. Together, their charities represent approximately 7.5m members.

England and Wales could be facing its deadliest summer on record after researchers estimated that 2,700 people died in May and June’s heatwaves alone.

They found that around 42% of the deaths this year were directly linked to global warming, which added around 4C to maximum temperatures, warning that British summertime had become “dangerous”.

The research, by Imperial College London, the Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, found the June heatwave was among the top two deadliest on record, surpassing even the July 2022 heatwave, which saw the UK’s hottest ever temperature, partly because of higher overnight temperatures, which gave no respite from the heat.

The extreme heatwaves have already been linked to tens of thousands of deaths across Europe, but this is the first estimate of their impact in the UK.

The researchers estimated that heat-related excess deaths in England and Wales had, by the end of the record-breaking June heatwave, already exceeded the estimated total for the whole of the previous summer by around 80%.

The executives also argue that nature makes Brits 'proud to be from these isles' according to polling from More in Common for the National Trust.

"It brings communities together and fosters belonging, something we see in the millions of people who join and donate to our respective charities, and the millions more who visit the countryside or coast, watch Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries or tend to a garden or window box each day. It’s part of our cultural heritage."

Last week, ministers announced plans to boost nature across Government-owned land, which includes prison grounds, defence training areas and railway lines.

Rewetting peatland, planting forests or establishing wildlife corridors are among some of the potential actions touted for sites across the estate, which covers more than 577,000 hectares or roughly 4% of England’s land.

These include airfields, barracks, natural nature reserves, prisons and courts, and areas along roads or train lines.

Under the plan published last Friday, ministers hope to join up fragmented, site-by-site nature work into a co-ordinated, “whole estate” approach.

The aim is to strengthen the UK’s nature recovery by building larger interconnected ecosystems rather than isolated pockets of habitat.

Asked whether she anticipates any disruption to this direction of travel and the resources being dedicated to nature under a new Labour leader, Nature Minister Mary Creagh told LBC Andy Burnham recognises the importance of this agenda, having recently launched a local nature recovery strategy in Manchester.

"I heard him talking there about the impacts of flooding on the city centre of Manchester, and how the rain coming off the local peat and the moorlands had just barrelled down into the city centre of Manchester and brought home to him and his city planners and all of the regional authority just how important this agenda is.

“So I’m confident that under our new prime minister, we’re going to see continued focus in this area of action.”