London Climate Action Week is like Wimbledon for climate engagement, with 100,000 people coming together to share ideas on how we stop global warming. They did so just as temperatures in the city became truly frightening.

There was no escape from the heat, with everyone dripping, making their own paper fans and sharing stories of heat stress and a fear of what is to come. King Charles had his own battery-powered fan as he met participants at an event in St James’s Palace, where the UN secretary general called for us to pull the emergency brake before it was too late.

You would think with that evidence before us public backing for action to tackle climate change would once again be on the rise. What seems to be missing is a shared sense that there is a clear path forward that a large majority of our people can buy into and support. We need a plan that protects the next generation but also improves things in the here and now.

If there was one consistent message from the week, it was that the rapid electrification of our entire energy system could provide just such a way forward. Switching to electricity to help us move around, to heat and cool our homes and power our industry is the most effective way of cutting emissions, but it also brings immediate health, security and economic........

© The Irish Times