Our Climate Conversation

My Sunday newspaper has a supplement titled ‘Party Like It’s the End of the World’ and a published letter saying: “…. We need to stop fooling ourselves into thinking that humans can fix this [climate] problem. Humans are the problem. It is nature that is going to solve the problem by eliminating the modern human.”

That’s really grim but it’s also not quite right. Firstly, Nature is not out to get us but instead has been operating as a giant Carbon Capture and Storage mechanism – for example, the oceans have absorbed about a quarter of our carbon emissions and 90% of our generated excess heat. But we have evidence that the limit of Nature’s help has been reached as we continue to plunder her resources. Nature is not the driver of impending catastrophe but instead also faces a Mass Extinction.

Secondly, most of humanity has a very modest carbon footprint and cannot be made culpable for the dire situation we find ourselves in. But some people, most notably the very rich with their excessive lifestyles and almost all of us in affluent societies, are responsible. Global greenhouse gas emissions have increased by more than 50% since 1990.

It’s us – me, you, the people of Bromsgrove, inhabitants of this Island Nation and a few other states like us – we are even now over-consuming and need to live more frugally. We are also implicated historically being the birth place of the Industrial Revolution and through our long involvement with colonialism. Our country became rich by this exploitation whilst also pumping fossil pollution into the atmosphere that lasts hundreds of years. Taking this accumulation into account, the UK is the world’s fifth largest emitter state.

So let us start by admitting responsibility with humility.

What can be done to limit the damage now? We cannot do very much on our own so we need to join groups of like-minded people to make an impact – there are many, even in Bromsgrove! Look out for opportunities to meet people for easy discussions at places like Community, Climate or Repair Cafes, Community Gardens and Allotments, Warm Hubs.

As individuals/families our first action should be to change diet – it’s win-win in a big way. A recent article in The Conversation: “Choosing legumes [beans and peas] over meat and milk would halve nutritional imbalances ... And it would cut the number of people dying by a tenth, especially from diet-related diseases like heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. The amount of land and water needed to grow our food and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced as a result would more than halve, and food costs would fall by more than a third. ”

Please also let us ask (email, phone, visit) our MP to vote for the Climate and Nature Bill on January 24 2025. It commits the Government to meet its international obligations on emissions and to regenerate nature by publishing an action plan and reviewing its progress annually. (visit Zero Hour for details)