What can you do - UK edition

Firstly the good news: as of 2018 the UK has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 43% compared to 1990 levels. Most of this has come from the power sector where the expansion of the use of renewable energy has made the UK one of the leaders in terms of power generated from the cleaner sources. Here’s a chart from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) - a credible source which shows the country is moving in the right direction.

But this is not enough. The Paris Agreement targets a threshold of well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, but current global plans give only a 50% chance of meeting 3°C! Anything over 2°C will mean huge sea level increases, unprecedented melting ice caps and the wide scale disruption of life as we know it, absolutely everywhere.

Then there are several worrying trends - a report by the CCC says that the emission reductions from the UK’s 29 million homes have stalled, while energy use in homes – which accounts for 14% of total UK emissions – increased between 2016 and 2017.

Moreover, the UK has the opportunity to be a global leader once again. As a rich and large economy (as opposed to the Scandinavian countries that are rich but not large, or India which is large but not rich) it could set the example for the rest of the developed world and beyond. Indeed this is probably why the next major climate summit, nicknamed the ‘COP26’ is to be held in Glasgow in 2020.

So now it’s over to the politicians?

Two reasons why this can not be the case:

1. Most politicians are doing what they are doing because it’s their job. And like anyone who’s worked a day, they want promotions and raises and praise like everyone else. How can they get that? Well there is the risky path of sticking their necks out and being leaders, or there is the safer path of toeing the line and just doing whatever it takes to ensure they get enough votes in the next elections. And tearing up the status quo and pushing everyone to change their ways is rarely a great way to get votes. So we have to demand the change we want them to deliver.
2. That businesses sway politicians and their actions should be news to no one. UK’s citizens have enormous power over businesses that sell there - every time we purchase a product or service from them, we are choosing that company over others. So it’s down to the people to support the businesses that make climate change a key part of their agenda, and demand change from the ones that don’t.

What about businesses?

As alluded to in the point above, businesses have very little desire to make a change if it is not what their consumers are demanding. And even if this is the case, far too often businesses have shown themselves as happy to just ‘greenwash’ and make a superficial change rather than the real change needed. 

There are exceptions of course. Several businesses have realised there is no point on only focusing on quarterly profits if it comes at the cost of guaranteed losses before long.

The bigger picture

Ultimately I believe this is an even bigger opportunity. For too long now consumerism has made us in the west go from one purchase to the next. For many people, this has become the biggest if not the only source of happiness. But to keep buying things is to pillage the planet.

In the past, there was competition for resources and we all wanted to have the biggest house and the fanciest car etc. But we’re now in the age of plenty as the famous historian Yuval Noah Harari puts it. So isn’t it time for us to seek happiness in other ways and not the ones that mean we will be leaving a scrap heap of a planet behind to future generations - is that morally acceptable to you?

And there are good signs that this country can lead the charge in this new world order. The way the nation has responded to Sir David Attenborough’s pleas to reduce our plastic usage through the show Blue Planet II is one. The way that micro-movements like #2minutebeachclean and now the broader #2minutesolution has spread like wild fire is another. And watching the average guy on the street risking arrests and chaining themselves to buildings to drive awareness from as part of the Extinction Rebllion movement are other examples. 

We’ve always been a generous nation - the many award winning charities and the millions they raise here, are signs of that. But now we have to focus our attention on not just ‘making the world a better place’ sometime in the future, but preventing the catastrophe that awaits us in the next 10-15 years!

We all have to be part of the change needed, starting with the smallest actions:

• Every time you need to purchase something think twice. Can you do without it and save some of the planet’s resources for a future generation to have their share?
• Can you give up eating meat or at the very least cut down your consumption?
• Can you cut down on all forms of waste: especially plastic, food and water wastage?
• Can you travel less or at the very least, less extravagantly?
• Are you supporting the right corporations that are actively trying to do most of the above too?
• Are your savings and other investments supporting corporations who are conscious of their footprint?
• Are you telling your local politicians at every given opportunity (starting from emailing them, telling them at local town halls and meetings and most importantly casting your vote in a way that aligns)?
• Finally, are you telling your friends and family, co-workers and acquaintances about these things and why it matters? You don’t have to debate them down, but just keep bringing up the topic and back your side of the story with as many facts as you can muster. This is what we are here to support you with!