The climate crisis is here – why are we still so reluctant to pay up and fix the problem?

Not only has the British government failed to develop a coherent plan for adapting the nation’s infrastructure, it doesn’t even know what the bill will be, writes Anna Isaac

Climate activists including Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future stage a protest in July demanding more action on the climate crisis

(Reuters)

As we watch the fires rage and hear the climate crisis warnings crank up several notches, there’s a question being overlooked: do we have any fire extinguishers?

The answer, according to officials within the Civil Contingency Secretariat, the segment of the Cabinet Office built to manage disaster, or at the Environment Agency, which prepares for floods, is: not enough, not nearly enough. From working out food security plans, to temperature testing on houses, to flood defences and medical supplies, the list of how to get ready is long.

Last month, the UK’s capital saw its streets and Tube stations turn to rivers. Germany and China are both reeling from more severe, and fatal, floods. This week, we have seen images of Greek citizens fleeing from burning homes.