MEP’s warning about flood risk

From the archive, first published Friday 13th Apr 2007.

A GREEN MEP says Canvey could be seriously affected by the threat of rising sea levels due to global warming.

Jean Lambert, speaking at the National Union of Teachers' annual conference in Harrogate, said places like Canvey, which was devastated by floods in 1953, and the Thames Gateway could be at risk.

Addressing teachers and education specialists, the former teacher called for greater education on the issue.

She said: "We need to understand the effects will not only be felt abroad - out of sight, out of mind as it were - but also at home.

"As Green MEP for London and originally from Essex, I think of Canvey and the Thames Gateway which are both at sea level, and not just places like Bangladesh."

She added: "We have to reconsider our ideas of development and responsibility to ensure we are climate-proofing our own lives, in our places of work and where we teach."