This weekend I went to The Wave in London to make my feelings heard about Climate Change and to play my part in communicating to politicians that it is not acceptable for them to come away from Copenhagen over the next two weeks without a legally binding agreement to make signficant and meaningful reductions in carbon emissions over the coming years. It’s now commonly agreed by climate scientists that we need to aim for a 40% cut on pre 1990 levels by 2020 and at least an 80 % cut by 2050.
The interesting thing is that although it’s really important that governments have this discussion and come to real agreements much of the fight against climate change needs to be fought by individuals in the decisions that they make and the way that they live their everyday lives. Cutting carbon emissions by 80% seems a massive thing to do but over the 40 years that we’ve got to do it that’s only a cut of 2% per year making it feel much more do-able. We should also see it as a positive journey because much of what we need to do is about making changes that reduce inequality and make happiness and people more important that money and things.
So how do you get started? Instead of making a long list of meaningless New Year’s Resolutions this year why don’t you think of three ways to cut your carbon foot print and really commit to sticking to them? Here’s what I’ll be doing to play my part in 2010:
- I’m already vegetarian which is good but I will be eating less dairy products which can have a surprisingly high carbon foot print.
- I will only be buying well made clothes that are made to last – more expensive in the short-term but cheaper in the long-term because they last much, much longer.
- Finding more ways to get outdoors and enjoy the world around me. This year I started running. Next year is going to be the year of the bike with some great journeys made on two wheels to explore this wonderful island we live on.
