Leading Cumbrian environmental figures have called on local and national government to ensure that policies are put in place to avert the impact of the climate crisis on our region.

Their pleas have come after UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its report this week which asserted that lasting sea level rise has been set in motion and will be irreversible for hundreds to thousands of years.

Such impacts will likely affect coastal areas in West Cumbria within the next thirty years according to their estimates and projections of rising sea levels- between about 15-30cm (6-12 inches) by 2050.

Amidst this news, the plans for a new coal mine in West Cumbria, which would be the country's first to be built in three decades, are still ongoing.

West Cumbria Friends of the Earth's Ruth Balogh stated her concerns at current plans for a coal mine in Whitehaven and has called on politicians and businesses to treat the report's warnings seriously.

She said: "We've been talking to people in West Cumbria about the coal mine, and we've found that most people are very concerned about climate change. We need local politicians and business to take their concerns seriously.

"Our economy needs a huge cross-sector transformation, from transport to energy, to retrofitting houses and encouraging biodiversity. We need green jobs to do all this. We don't need a carbon-emitting coal mine. And the climate crisis won't be solved with the promise of new nuclear which - even if we supported it - would come on-stream too far into the future to make any impact.'

Jill Perry, who has stood as a General Election candidate for the Green Party, added that the region faces a real existential threat if local and national leaders do not take urgent action.

She stated: "Britain is an island which puts West Cumbria at risk. Not only is the problem from being on the coast but with the mountains nearby, our geographical position means we are at risk of rising waters also due to increased rainfall.

"Over the past few years, we've experienced devastating floods in our region. It's thirty years since I began campaigning on climate change and I was saying then what the PM only said yesterday that it is really urgent and the more action we take and the sooner that happens, the cheaper and easier it will be to deal with the issues."

She added that there is still time to avoid the worst aspects of climate change but warned that urgen action is required to avoid the worst consequences.

"We've got to do our best with local and national action to avoid the dangers we face. Local government has to stop investing in schemes that make things easier for cars and invest in public transport and cycle lanes as well as not supporting plans that could damage the planet. It's about action, not words."