Once again Britain’s credentials as a leader in the fight against climate change are being undermined. Tomorrow, one of the country’s leading scientific research organizations – the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc) – will vote on closing three strategic research centres.

Over 1,000 formal objections have now been lodged to the plans as the centres are seen as key research bodies that are documenting the effects of climate change on the landscape. Some of Britain’s most powerful conservation groups are said to be outraged: The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says: “These cuts will have serious consequences for vital ecological research and could not come at a worse time.”

It looks like the same old story – a country says it is a leader in fighting and understanding climate change, yet quietly it gets rid of the very scientists it needs to fight and understand the problem. Let’s see what happens.