THE government should stop talking about global warming and start using the term "climate catastrophe", a leading scientist said yesterday.
Dr Richard Pike, chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, also called for a commitment to deliver a large-scale use of renewables and nuclear power, rather than encouraging "trivial solutions" such as washing clothes at low temperatures.
Dr Pike said global warming conjured up a gradual, gentle process in which the real problems would be dealt with decades into the future. He said teenagers need to be taught that, without action on climate change, there would be food and water shortages, floods, mass migration and possibly a billion deaths within their lifetime.
He added: "We live in a country where much of the population regards the sun and heat as welcome, so why should predictions of global warming immediately strike people as nasty and something to be avoided?"
Dr Pike said to bring about change, there needed to be dissatisfaction with the current situation, a vision for the future and clarity on short-term steps to achieve that vision – and the government had failed on all counts.
And he said tough decisions were needed on carbon capture and storage, massive deployment of renewables and prioritisation of science and funding to halve the global dependence on fossil fuels.
He added: "There has to be a picture where hydrocarbon use is globally constrained and energy provision draws massively on sustainable renewables and nuclear power stations."
The full article contains 252 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
