Greta Thunberg addressed a rally in Glasgow yesterday and accused the politicians attending COP26 of PRETENDING – Well I hope not!
Greta also urged her audience of next generation young people to be the leaders who will make change happen – I agree with that. We all need to take responsibility and show leadership in making a difference now
BUT let’s be specific about what we need to change so that we can create a movement that truly makes a difference
We need to change our behaviours. Plastics don’t find their way into the oceans of the world by themselves – we put them there!
We need to put pressure on our own politicians to ensure that the UK has a real policy of removing plastic from the environment at source We need new business models that require companies along the supply chain to take back and truly recycle plastic products
We need to support and encourage disruptive SMEs with sustainability business models to thrive
We need to educate others to change attitudes and join this wave of new businesses now
We need out politicians to embrace systems thinking about the policies they introduce so that the social aspects are addressed alongside the environmental ones. For example, how will lower income families in terraced housing or high-rise flats own and charge a new electric car post 2030?
The vast majority of current emissions are from energy production in various forms and we need the technology to fast track renewable alternatives. Imagine if in Glasgow nations agreed to finance a number of specific technologies to speed up their low cost commercialisation potential
For example solar systems that are multiple times more efficient at capturing UV to reduce the size of solar farms and their cost. Development of fusion nuclear technology for global green electricity. Support for carbon removal processes so that we have a 2-pronged attack on removing the global warming threat. Recycling and other technologies that will support a Circular Economy
Do you have ideas that would increase the practical impact in reducing global warming?
Do you agree this specific practical approach should be high on the agenda at COP26 in Glasgow?