A noteworthy letter in The Times from some of the Green Great 'n' Good about what to do as a priority over climate change. The authors were:
Shaun Spiers, executive director, Green Alliance; Mike Clarke, chief executive, RSPB; Beccy Speight, chief executive, Woodland Trust; John Sauven, executive director, Greenpeace UK; Sandy Luk, chief executive, Marine Conversation Society; Crispin Truman, chief executive, Campaign to Protect Rural England; Tanya Steele, chief executive, WWF UK; James Thornton, chief executive, ClientEarth; Stephanie Hilborne, chief executive, The Wildlife Trusts; Darren Shirley, chief executive, Campaign for Better Transport; Patrick Begg, outdoors and natural resources director, National Trust; Martin Spray CBE, chief executive, WWT
They say:
The Committee on Climate Change has shown that the UK can end its contribution to climate change by 2050, if we act now. We will be able to go faster if we continue to innovate, as we have over the past decade. Five cost effective measures can put the UK on track: [i] a ban on new petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2030; [ii] a comprehensive plan for retrofitting buildings; [iii] an industrial resource efficiency programme; [iv] greater support for renewable energy sited in the right places; and [v] policies that support better land management, including more peatland restoration, tree planting and wetlands creation.
By acting now, the government can prevent climate and ecological catastrophe, provide immediate benefits for people and wildlife, and prove the UK is a world leader.
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I agree with all this, of course, in as much as I fully understand what each will come to mean in practice. However, whilst these are 'cost-effective' measures, we're not told what they will actually cost. Under 2% of GDP, I trust.
Sadly, it's all very top down – ie, what government has to do. The people, meanwhile, will be expected to pay their taxes and do as they're told. That is presumably why there's no mention of education or learning. This is par for the course. Have we learned nothing about the psychology of change?
Spot on Bill.