UK car and home heating taxes should be increased and environmental issues placed at the heart of any economic recovery following the coronavirus crisis, senior government advisers said on Thursday.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said in its annual report to parliament that the global pandemic had given ministers a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" of a "green recovery".

"COVID-19 has shown that planning for systemic risks is unavoidable," said Julia King, who chairs the CCC's adaptation committee.

"We have warned repeatedly that the UK is poorly prepared for the very serious impacts of climate change, including flooding, overheating and water shortages.

"Now is the moment to get our house in order."

The committee, an independent body, advised bringing forward the date for ending sales of new conventional cars by three years to 2032, and increasing petrol prices.

It also recommended considering increasing the tax on gas for home heating.

Other recommendations included a call to make it easier for people to walk and cycle, and putting in place better national broadband to make it easier to work from home.

Britain has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make an announcement on environmental policies in the next few weeks.

A government spokesman said: "We agree with the committee that tackling climate change should be at the heart of our economic recovery."

Sun-seekers spark emergency incident at UK beach
Bournemouth, United Kingdom (AFP) June 25, 2020 - An English seaside resort declared a major incident Thursday after thousands of people flocked to the beach on the hottest day of the year so far, despite the threat of coronavirus.

Temperatures rose to a record 33.3 degrees Celsius (91.94 degrees Fahrenheit) at Heathrow Airport in west London, the Met Office said, a day after highs of 32.6 C saw huge crowds flock to the coast.

But the local authorities in Bournemouth said they were "appalled" at the scenes on its beaches, as the sunny weather saw an influx of thousands of people.

Their arrival resulted in gridlock on the roads, widespread illegal parking, piles of rubbish as well as anti-social behaviour including drunken fights, they said.

Visiting the beach is permitted after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was eased, but people are still being urged to avoid large crowds, and pubs and restaurants do not open until July 4.

Council leader Vikki Slade said Bournemouth, on the southern English coast, was not ready to receive so many visitors and urged people to stay away.

"The irresponsible behaviour and actions of so many people is just shocking and our services are stretched to the absolute hilt trying to keep everyone safe," she said.

Declaring a major incident allows the council to deploy additional resources, including police.

Other beaches across Britain were also busy, including Southend-on-Sea, where Magda Bewick was among those soaking up the rays.

"It's lovely, obviously to have a little sunbathe, and the kids are happy, in and out of the sea," she told AFP.

She said she had been placed on furlough from her job, "so what else is there to do? I've done enough gardening, it gets a bit boring".

She said the adults were keeping their distance from each other as much as possible, although admitted that many of the children were not: "They don't understand."

In Bournemouth, Assistant Chief Constable Sam de Reya of Dorset Police said his force was "reliant on people taking personal responsibility".

"Clearly we are still in a public health crisis and such a significant volume of people heading to one area places a further strain on emergency services resources," he said.

Britain has been hard hit by the global coronavirus outbreak, recording the worst death toll in Europe so far.

Infection rates have fallen significantly, but the health ministry on Thursday recorded another 149 deaths among confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 43,230.

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Global health emergencies: A rarely used call to action
Geneva (AFP) Jan 22, 2020
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is holding emergency talks Thursday in Geneva to decide whether a deadly virus outbreak in China constitutes a "public health emergency of international concern". The designation is rare and only used for the gravest outbreaks which are considered "serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected". The classification would imply that the disease, which has killed nine people so far, risks spreading further internationally and requires an international response. The ... read more