MOST readers will be appalled by the Australian bushfires. They are a terrible demonstration of the human cost and environmental destruction which will come with the climate emergency, even for the richest countries.

We have seen the suffering of our cousins Down Under, and now we say we are convinced the climate emergency is real and urgent, but weren't the burning-down of the Amazon and the Storm Desmond floods right here in Cumbria menacing enough?

Given all we are seeing, might I ask why our county councillors are still refusing to declare a climate emergency? How much more evidence does humble Cumbria County Council need, unless it sees itself replacing the UN in the near future?

The outcry directed at the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison goes to show that people are ready to hold their politicians to account. In the home of British environmentalism, I encourage every reader to do the same and ask if this county council is rising to the challenge.

William Crisp

Windermere