Climate change-related floods devastating Pakistan show the need for action on carbon emissions. King Charles III can have a positive influence on UK and the world – Angus Robertson MSP

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has visited Pakistan following the recent devastating floods.

The unworldly deluge killed 1,400 people. More than a million people have lost their homes; many having lost whole towns and lands where they made their livelihoods.

Make no mistake. The severity of this flood is a result of climate change. Governments must act, and the Scottish Government remains committed to hitting our ambitious net-zero targets.

With fossil-fuel supporter Jacob Rees-Mogg now in control of the UK Government’s energy policy, it is vital that people across the UK make their voices heard to push Westminster to do better on its climate policies.

Countless studies show that paying now to tackle climate change will give returns on investment many times over. Doing so will give a boost to the renewable energy industry and the opportunity for thousands of jobs across the UK and Scotland, in particular.

It will also protect us from the global forces impacting energy prices to which we are being subjected to now.

Today, we can also be buoyed by the fact the new King Charles III has, for a long time, advocated for sustainability and climate action.

Children catch fish in a flooded street on Sunday after heavy monsoon rains in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (Picture: Abdul Majeed/AFP via Getty Images)

His important speech to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow appealed for unity the world over to tackle the issue of the age. He also revealed earlier in the year he is eating less meat and using alternative, renewable fuels for his cars.

We can have hope that his reign will have a positive influence on the climate actions of the UK and the world.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary