European Heatwave Failing to Spur Support for Climate Action – Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

After 30 years of failure to move the needle, nobody believes the government will do anything about emissions.

A war of the truth’: Europe’s heatwaves are failing to spur support for climate action

Voters may feel hotter summers are ‘too much’ but they appear to tolerate roll-back of policies to stop global heating

Ajit Niranjan and Elsie McDowell Sat 5 Jul 2025 01.44 AEST

It’s just too much, isn’t it?” says Julie, a retiree in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, about the 42C (107.6F) heat that her brother had seen scorch Spain last week. The former local government worker has felt summers get hotter over her lifetime and says she “couldn’t stand” such high heat herself.

But like many who experienced Europe’s first heatwave of the summer, Julie does not sound overly alarmed. She worries about climate breakdown for young people, but is not concerned about herself. She thinks more climate action would be nice, but does not know what can be done about it. She does not have much faith in the government.

“It’s like everything else,” she says. “I think it’s all too little, too late.”

As heatwaves engulfed large swathes of Europe and North America last week – the latest in a stream of deadly extremes made worse by fossil fuel pollution – green groups are frustrated that increasingly violent weather has not spurred the urgent support for climate action they had expected.

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“The issue is really that there are so many other concerns now,” said Hodgson, citing the organisation’s data tracking the top issues that people face each week. “Three years ago you’d have the cost of living first, then the National Health Service, and then immigration and climate – those two would compete for third place. Now, when we do those polls, climate is near the bottom of the list.”

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/04/europe-heatwaves-failing-support-climate-action

The article also references a hilarious poll in which apparently half of Nigel Farage’s Reform party said they wanted a heatwave. And why not – Britain is having a glorious beach weather Summer thanks to the heatwave.

My hypothesis of the self limiting nature of climate policy, where green policies are tolerated only until they start to cause serious economic and social problems, is clearly being played out in today’s Britain. But it is a mixed blessing that climate has dropped to the bottom of the list.

I don’t think the fall of climate change as a priority means climate concern has fallen, the stinky green BBC still has a stranglehold over way too much real-estate in British people’s heads.

A more likely explanation for the apparent drop in climate concern is life in Britain has become so horrible for ordinary people, they have had no choice but to prioritise short term survival over their climate concerns.