On 1 May 2019, the UK Parliament became the first in the world to pass a motion declaring an environment and climate emergency. This event was barely reported by the BBC, either on television, radio or online. For example, it did not feature at all in the headlines of the BBC’s flagship Today programme the following morning.

The BBC has huge reach and influence both in the UK and globally, reaching a weekly audience of 376 million people in 2018. Its Mission is to inform and educate people. It therefore has a responsibility to give due prominence to the existential crisis facing the world. That failure of responsibility is particularly appalling in the context of:

• David Attenborough’s recent documentary, “Climate Change: The Facts” (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00049b1
• Extinction Rebellion’s recent International Action (https://rebellion.earth/international-rebellion/
• The international Youth Strike 4 Climate movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_strike_for_climate
• The Governor of the Bank of England saying that Climate Change poses an existential threat to the international banking system (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/17/the-financial-sector-must-be-at-the-heart-of-tackling-climate-change

We have known about Climate Change for more than 30 years, but humanity has been sleepwalking towards extinction. The developments listed above show that, at the eleventh hour, some people are beginning to wake up.

By failing to give prominence to the climate and ecological emergency, the BBC is contributing to the sleepwalking rather than the waking up. It should be actively looking for opportunities to inform and educate: for example, when reporting extreme weather events, the BBC should be explaining the role of climate change in causing those events.