A-Infos (en) UK, ACG: CLIMATE MURDER! (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

[The article below was written by a sympathiser of the ACG.and is the 
first of two articles on the heatwaves, the second written by members of 
the French organisation Union Communiste Libertaire. This article 
revised on 15/08/2026.] ---- As large parts of the UK appear to be 
heading into yet another heatwave this week, pictures of parched fields, 
scorched parks and packed beaches are easy to find in the media. But 
scant attention is given to the cause of this unprecedented weather, 
namely climate collapse, nor the uneven impacts on people in terms of 
suffering and hardship.

The planet is reaping the rewards of years of extractive capitalism 
pumping warming gases into the atmosphere. Weather record after record 
is broken, month after month, to the degree that TV and radio presenters 
sometimes sound like they are merely reciting sports results. July was 
the driest on record, highest temperatures for Spring and Summer months 
were recorded, England had its warmest June on record, and so on.... 
Meanwhile, the true and horrifying impacts of the beginning of climate 
collapse are hidden. The truth is that thousands of people, most of them 
vulnerable, poor and marginalised, have been killed by the extreme heat 
this year. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimated that 2,877 
people died in the May and June heatwaves - before those in July and 
August, traditionally the hottest month. In an echo of Covid, people 
aged 75 and older accounting for about two-thirds of deaths. Just like 
the coronavirus pandemic poor and older people feature 
disproportionately. Elsewhere, France recorded more than 5,700 excess 
deaths during its June heatwave, with similar impacts in other countries 
such as Spain.  The term 'excess mortality' sanitises what is actually 
happening - people are dying before time, killed by climate devastation 
caused by fossil capital and its allies.

The Labour health secretary, Yvette Cooper, is quoted as saying, "My 
thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones as a result of the 
long and intense heatwaves." Yet, this is the same Labour government 
that is considering giving the go ahead to massive new gas and oil 
drilling in the North Sea, in the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields, which 
would release some 35.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over 
200 million tonnes of CO2 respectively- while having zilch effect on 
consumer energy prices. . Andy Burnham's 'man of the people' PR persona 
does not extend to taking on the oil giants killing the planet, stating 
that he will be "pragmatic" about oil and gas, saying "The question 
isn't whether Britain will still be using oil and gas, the question is 
where does it come from." As scientists have repeatedly pointed out, no 
more fossil fuels at all can be extracted if the world and humanity are 
to have a viable future. In short, the Labour government's approach 
makes it complicit in the unnecessary deaths of thousands of people, as 
well as in baking in increased further temperature increases for future 
decades with resultant climate devastation and human catastrophe.

In the here and now, it is clear who benefits and who suffers from this 
situation. Eight of the biggest oil companies, including BP, Shell and 
Saudi Aramco amassed profits of more than £67bn in just three months up 
to the end of June, as the US / Iran war sent energy prices soaring, and 
the emissions-driven climate crisis caused deadly heatwaves across 
Europe and elsewhere. Meanwhile, we suffer. The combined heat and 
humidity, fuelled by the climate crisis, is making life in cities in 
particular feel unliveable. However, this suffering is by degrees and 
determined by class. Air conditioning has suddenly become a 'must have' 
for the well off. But while wealthy individuals can find the tens of 
thousands of pounds needed to equip their homes with built in AC 
systems, people on low incomes and chronically ill people have to resort 
to inadequate portable fans purchased in the market or at Argos. Cities 
like London experience the urban heat island effect, widespread concrete 
and lack of greenery creating this: poorer families tend to live in 
blocks of flats and multi-occupied properties, while the better off are 
more likely to live with more access to trees and green spaces, which 
ameliorate the effect. And in the workplace, again similar to Covid, 
working class people suffer most - frontline, outdoor and manual 
workers, bus drivers working in intolerable temperatures of 40C plus. 
The nurses' union, the RCN, has reported cases of nursing staff fainting 
in overheated hospitals. There is no legal upper temperature limit for 
workplaces in the UK.

The oil and gas companies and the rich do not bother one iota about the 
misery left in their wake as they scoop up hundreds of billions of 
gallons of oil plus gas and profits, nor do they care if they sign the 
death warrant for humanity on this planet. Maximising profits to the nth 
degree is their mantra and raison d'etre. And in this process, it is the 
poor who will suffer most, based on class, while the rich remain 
insulated (at least for the time being) as the planet heats up.

We must do everything we can to oppose both the fossil fuel industry, 
notably any new drilling in the North Sea, and the uneven impacts on 
communities, demanding that local authorities and employers put 
protections in place for all. We cannot rely on Labour for this - its 
track record speaks for itself. As well as not confronting oil companies 
it has also pursued and supported C02 and pollution producing 
incinerators sited in poor areas, such as the Edmonton one in north 
London. And do not place faith in the Green Party as it increasingly 
seems to forget its 'environmental side', and as its councillors find 
themselves constricted by being in the position of managing the existing 
system while obeying local authority budgets. We must organise from the 
ground up, on housing estates, in workplaces and elsewhere, linking up 
climate related struggles - from campaigns against incinerators to 
projects promoting food security. We must make the link between 
workplace struggles and the climate, so that more people are aware of 
this. One such example is that of bus drivers in north London, who are 
starting a series of strikes against their intolerable working 
conditions in the heat - a sign of class struggles in the future!

NO TO JACKDAW AND ROSEBANK GAS AND OIL FIELDS!

PROTECTION IN ALL WORKPLACES AGAINST THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE BREAKDOWN!

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2026/08/13/climate-murder/
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