Heatwave one day, flash floods the next. The weather in the UK this summer has been unpredictable and scary. According to experts it is a sinister look at what is only expected to get worse unless we act. 

Anyone who watched Wall-E in cinemas in 2008 is familiar with the love story between two robots, the catalyst for which was extinction of all life on earth as we know it today; caused by "unchecked insatiable human need to consume and private industry's drive for profit when it overtakes public good" (this description from vox.com is basically the fast fashion industry right now - in a nutshell). What those of us in cinemas in 2008 might not have realised is that we are much closer to that reality than we might think - as in, a few decades away. A recent IPBES report this year showed that humans "threaten one million species with extinction" with mammals (including humans) at a 25% risk of extinction in the coming decades according to the report (and these are just predictions in an increasingly unpredictable world).

In an article by the BBC released earlier this week entitled "Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months", one day before what could have been the UK's hottest day since records began, environmental correspondent Matt McGrath writes: "Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5C this century, emissions of carbon dioxide would have to be cut by 45% by 2030...but today, observers recognise that the decisive, political steps to enable the cuts in carbon to take place will have to happen before the end of next year."

What this means is that, according to McGrath "The sense that the end of next year is the last chance saloon for climate change is becoming clearer all the time." or in other words - if we don't act now, the damage to our planet will be irreversible. 

In February earlier this year a commons select committee report found that "a one penny producer responsibility charge on each item of clothing could pay for better clothing collection and recycling." In the report:

"Environmental Audit Committee Chair Mary Creagh MP said: “Fashion shouldn’t cost the earth. Our insatiable appetite for clothes comes with a huge social and environmental price tag: carbon emissions, water use, chemical and plastic pollution are all destroying our environment. In the UK we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe. ‘Fast fashion’ means we overconsume and under use clothes. As a result, we get rid of over a million tonnes of clothes, with £140m worth going to landfill, every year. 

Fashion retailers must take responsibility for the clothes they produce. That means asking producers to consider and pay for the end of life process for their products through a new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. The Government must act to end the era of throwaway fashion by incentivising companies that offer sustainable designs and repair services. Children should be taught the joy of making and mending clothes in school as an antidote to anxiety and the mental health crisis in teenagers. Consumers must play their part by buying less, mending, renting and sharing more.

The report concludes "that a voluntary approach to improving the sustainability of the fashion industry is failing with just 10 fashion retailers signed up to reduce their water, waste and carbon footprints. A charge of one penny per garment producers as part of a new EPR scheme could raise £35 million for investment in better clothing collection and recycling in the UK. The Government should offer incentives for design for recycling, design for disassembly and design for durability."

In June this year it emerged the government rejected all of the recommendations made in this report - including those designed to prevent forced labour and child labour. 

We already know there is little we can do in a short space of time to change the way the public consumes with the demand for an endless supply of cheap products, entertainment food and resources rising by the day. It is up to the government to hold private industries to account, and to the public to ensure that they do this. 

With political leaders selfishly ignoring the cold, hard facts and figure about the damage their policies and ignorance are doing to our planet, it us up to us to hold the government to account and demand change, before it is too late. There are small and significant changes we can make in our everyday lives, such as going meat and dairy free and recycling more - which do make a difference. However, without real significant change in government policy the positive effects of these changes by everyday civilians are severely outweighed by the colossal damages the selfish opinions our out-of-touch world leaders create.

"The UK's Committee on Climate Change (CCC). At the launch of their review of progress made by the UK government on tackling climate change, the country was found not to be on track despite legislating for net zero emissions by 2050." The threat of climate change is more powerful than any government or world organisation, more urgent or serious than any of us could even begin to imagine, and it is becoming clearer and clearer that those with the power to halt it are selfishly refusing to do so.

The complete lack of attention on any other political matter as a result of Brexit... doesn't mean climate change has decided to pause for a few years, it is a serious threat to life on earth as we know it and will continue to be until we take radical action to reverse the damage. 

We need to start thinking and acting differently if we stand a chance of survival. A mandatory one penny tax could be a momentous leap in the right direction, setting an example to the world of the importance of holding the greed of private industries to account for public good. Think of our planet as the ship, and the likes of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump as the captains.