IF you’re the leader of the Green Party, what better place to hang out than the Green Man Festival? And that’s exactly what Zack Polanski did on Saturday.

The Green Party leader gave a talk on Welsh independence, press regulation and ‘community energy’ to a Babbling Tongues tent that was bursting at the seams.

Judging by the way the crowd seemed to hang on Polanski’s every word, he had definitely found his audience.

At a Green Man where the ritual burning of the wicker man had been called off because of wildfire fears, the Green Party leader had already expressed his fears over the extreme heat we have all experienced this Summer.

Earlier this month, Polanski warned the Prime Minister that the extreme heat and series of wildfires that have plagued the UK were an emergency that needed immediate action.

The Green Party leader stated, “We are facing the biggest threat to this country since the Second World War.

“Extreme weather is now the new normal – and without action, the impact on the people of this country will be unimaginably grave.”

He explained, “Almost three thousand people have died from the effects of extreme heat this summer. Those whose bodies were under such intense strain in trying to stay cool that their hearts or kidneys could no longer cope.”

Addressing the recent spate of wildfires, he said, “And then there are the fires – forcing hundreds to evacuate their homes, while many thousands more wait anxiously with flames on the horizon and smoke in their lungs.”

He also used the rest of Europe as an example of how bad things can get and said, “Hundreds of thousands evacuated. Half a million acres burnt.“The sheer scale of the devastation is hard to comprehend. But we need to look it in the face – because this is only a taster of what’s to come if we don’t act now.”

Polanski also highlighted the threat this year’s heat poses to our food and water supply.

“The threat is so severe”, he said, “that the UK’s national risk register warns that if we had three years of exceptionally dry weather like this, we could face water rationing.”

He pointed out that private water companies haven’t built a single new reservoir since 1992 and they are losing nearly three billion litres of water a day from leaky pipes – or as the Green Party Leader put it “five times more than a nationwide hosepipe ban would save”.

Polanski urged the Prime Minister to “protect people right now and keep us safe from what we know is coming down the track.

“We need to keep people safe from extreme temperatures. That means a free, accessible cool space in every local area. And financial support for households to heatproof their home.”

He also called for a robust wildfire prevention strategy – and a fire service with the resources it needs to tackle blazes when they come.

“This should be funded,” Zack said, “by taxing the fossil fuel giants who are profiting from fuelling these infernos.”

And thirdly, Zack called for public ownership of our water.

“To secure our water supply, prevent droughts and protect our food system, we need to bring water back into public hands.”

“Every penny households pay for their water needs to go back into strengthening our infrastructure, building new reservoirs, and protecting us from the droughts of the future.”