Climate crisis: 'It's not enough to imagine the world we want. We must start living it, too, right here and now. We must be the ones to bring it into being'
The Indie's GreenWatch columnist Louise Tennekoon writes about environmental matters from a Bishop's Stortford perspective. This week, she looks at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report...
My column this week was going to be about water, but I couldn't let last week's report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) pass unnoticed. This report – produced by hundreds of top scientists and signed off by all the world's governments – contained a stark warning to humanity.
Our role in climate change is beyond doubt (despite what the fossil fuel giants, Donald Trump and the editor of the Daily Telegraph would still like us to believe). Some of the changes linked to human activity are already inevitable and irreversible.
Climate change is clearly linked to the increase in extreme weather events and we are within a decade or two of reaching or breaching the target set in Paris in 2015 of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.
I've been talking about climate change for almost three decades. People used to tell me I was being alarmist. With wildfires raging from Europe to Siberia, devastating floods in Germany and China, and temperature records being broken every day, alarm now feels like an appropriate response. This is what a climate emergency looks like – and it is only the start.
Let's take a breath. There is still time – just. It is possible that we could stabilise rising temperatures, but this will take rapid and deep cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases. By leaving it so late to take meaningful action, we have given ourselves a Herculean task.
So how are we doing? Although the UK produces less than 2% of global emissions, what we do matters. We set a benchmark for the rest of the world and we are the hosts of COP26, the critical United Nations Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow later this year.
The UK's record is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand we've cut our emissions by 44% since 1990 (largely through switching to low-carbon sources for more than 50% of our electricity) and set an ambitious target to achieve a 78% cut by 2035.
However, the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the Government, recently described progress as "woeful". Its chair said: "Almost all the things that should have happened have either been delayed or... haven't hit the mark." The CCC has concluded that the UK has adequate plans in place to deliver only two out of 21 key areas.
Businesses are clamouring for clear policies on transport, heating, building and infrastructure whilst huge anomalies remain.
Boris Johnson last week called for coal to be consigned to history, yet the Government is still considering plans for a new coking coal mine in Cumbria and proposals to tap the new Cambo oilfield off Shetland.
The scale of what is required is so huge that it's easy to feel powerless. I sometimes struggle with climate anxiety and when I do, I turn for advice to someone who has been there, seen it, bought the T-shirt.
Christiana Figueres, who led the climate negotiations in Paris in 2015, wrote last week: "[It is natural that] feelings of fear and grief get channelled into anger: outrage that we have allowed ourselves to get into this mess or, instead, numbness and apathy. But we cannot stay there. We have a responsibility now to find the inner strength to pull through."
It may appear that she's talking to our leaders, to the movers and shakers who can change the system. But I think she's also talking to you and me.
Last week I came across an idea that made me think. It comes from Uplift, a US-based climate justice campaign, and it is the idea that we need to "embody the future we want".
This fascinates me and inspires me. It suggests to me that it's not enough to imagine the world we want (a hard task in itself). We must start living it, too, right here and now. We must be the ones to bring it into being.
What does that mean in practical terms? Think about what you want and identify the first steps you can take – no matter how small – to make it happen.
Want streets that are safe for cycling? Then start cycling. Today. Go with a friend. Find a way to make it safe for you. If you lack confidence, get some training and invest in a high-vis tabard. Worried about the state of your bike? Get an overhaul. And begin.
Want to make different choices about how you shop? Start today. Take your reusable containers to the deli counter and start a conversation with the person beside you about why you've done it. Head to the market tomorrow (Thursday) and buy refillable laundry liquid, household cleaners, shampoos and body washes from the Tub-refillables stall (they are there this week, then on holiday, but will be back in September).
Want to slash your carbon footprint? Switch to green electricity. It doesn't have to cost more and you can switch between suppliers and tariffs as freely as with the rest of the market. Check out the MoneySavingExpert Cheap Energy club to search for the best green deals (make sure you make 'green' your top preference).
Want to connect with other people in the community and work together to take action here in our town? A small team, part of the Bishop's Stortford Climate Group, is organising a series of public events to inspire and empower us to improve our environment and take action on climate change. These events will take place in the run-up to, and during, the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November.
In October, we'll be holding a public screening of a film about climate change, showcasing the solutions that already exist and what communities can do when they come together.
Then in November we'll be holding two community meetings, to imagine the future we want for our town and to start making plans for what we can do together to bring that future to life.
As world leaders meet to discuss the future in Glasgow, we'll be meeting here in Stortford to talk about what it is possible for us to do to change our own future.
These events will be open to all. You don't have to be an expert. If you care and you want to get involved, you will be welcome to join us.
I'll be sharing more information about these events over the coming weeks. If you'd like to be kept informed via email then send your name and email address to me at louise.tennekoon@bishopsstortfordindependent.co.uk.
