LAST weekend's floods in North Lancashire and Cumbria, which resulted in records rainfall levels were a direct result of climate change, even Tory Government ministers accept this.

While extra money needs to be invested in flood defences, just as important is we can no longer ignore the effects of climate change.

The Tories when elected in 2010, in the coalition Government promised to be the greenest government ever. Their record up to now, does not reflect this, and now with the Conservatives governing alone things have got much worse.

We really need to be reducing our carbon emissions, by investing in renewable energy, and energy efficiency, but the Tories have reduced funding in renewables, and to make matters worse they have pushed for fracking, and plan to override local democracy to get their way. This must be resisted, but what is clear that all the focus on fracking for shale gas, comes at the expense of proper investment in solar,wind, and wave power, coupled with energy efficiency.

We had floods in the south a few years ago, and now we have had it in the north, we really must reduce our carbon emissions now, and seriously tackle climate change, otherwise we will have more flooding in the near future. Floods are tangible evidence that climate change is real, and a serious threat to our future.

Alan Johnson

Green Party