Inside View: UK Climate Emergency Briefing

An Inside View of the UK Climate Emergency Briefing with climate campaigner Nick Oldridge, co‑organizer of the National Emergency Briefing held at Central Hall Westminster in London. This landmark event brought together over 1,200 people – MPs, business leaders, faith leaders, media, unions, and more – to hear unvarnished science on how the climate and nature crises are already impacting health, food, security, and the economy in the UK.

This video was recorded on January 21st, 2026, and published on January 26th, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

In this conversation, Nick explains how he and his brother Simon turned the idea of a “COVID‑style” climate briefing into reality, why they chose that historic venue, and how they deliberately focused on impacts and risk in Britain rather than abstract global graphs. He walks us through the role of experts like Mike Berners‑Lee and Professor Hugh Montgomery, the inclusion of national security and food security, and even the powerful moment when a former general told the audience that true safety means deploying renewables as fast as physically possible.

Nick also shares what comes next: turning the briefing into a film that can be shown in cathedrals, village halls, and community centres across the UK, supported by a broad coalition of NGOs, faith groups, medical organisations, and more – with local MPs invited to every screening. We also touch on the challenges of billionaire‑dominated media, the shifting social‑media landscape, and how comedy (through Nick’s “Climate Science Translated” work) can help translate complex climate science into messages the public can absorb and act on.

Links:

• Support Our Mission

• National Emergency Briefing

• Michael Oppenheimer

• Simon Oldridge

• Utopia Bureau

• Hugh Montgomery, physician

• Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)

• Covering Climate Now

• Sandy Trust

• Tim Lenton

• Parasol Lost: Recovery plan needed

• Planetary Solvency (CEF Video)

• A Climate Advisor: Sir David King’s Journey (CEF Video)

• UNU-INWEH report on ‘Global Water Bankruptcy’

• 32 Fossil Fuel Companies Responsible for Half of Global CO2 Emissions in 2024: Report

• Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security

• Doomsday Glacier and a Seabed Curtain (CEF Video)

Special Guests

• Nick Oldridge - is a UK‑based climate campaigner and co‑organiser of the National Emergency Briefing, a landmark event at Central Hall Westminster that brought together leaders from politics, business, faith, media, and civil society to hear unvarnished climate and nature science. He also leads “Climate Science Translated,” using comedy and high‑profile comedians to turn complex climate research into accessible, engaging stories for the wider public.

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute.

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University

• Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.

Video Production:

• Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: crowander.com

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions