Counting On … – Page 33

Counting on … day 222

26th November 2024

Is it possible to adopt a zero plastic lifestyle?

As with oil and gas, much of our economy is tied into the use of plastics – plastic has very many useful characteristics being light weight, mouldable, waterproof, rustproof etc. To avoid plastic is therefore difficult – it is used in making shoes and clothes, household goods, toys, medical equipment, plumbing pipe etc. But there was a time when we didn’t have plastics but still made useful things, and we have many chemists and engineers who are developing plastic alternatives whilst retaining many of the advantages of plastic.

What we can do is to make a conscious effort to avoid plastic wherever possible. We don’t need to buy sweets or sandwiches or vegetables wrapped in plastic. We don’t need to buy plastic toothbrushes or combs or washing up bowls. We don’t need to use plastic cups and bottles.

And whilst plastic recycling isn’t the answer, whilst we still have plastic in circulation, reusing what we already have (and keeping it in good condition) and recycling what we don’t need, is still a good thing to do.

Counting on … day 221

25th November 2024

Today sees the start of the final round of negotiations at the Global Plastics Treaty taking place in Busan, Korea. The aim is to reach a global agreement to cut plastic production. At present it is predicted that global plastic production will increase by 300% by 2050 whilst consuming between a fifth and a third of our remaining carbon budget. (1)

Whilst recycling is a key part of reducing production, even the fossil fuel industry now agrees that recycling is not easy and will not be possible in many cases. (2)

For more info – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/24/world-unable-cope-10-years-talks-un-global-treaty-to-end-plastic-waste?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on day 220

22nd November 2024

Whilst the Prime Minister said that the new NDC target would not impact daily life, we will have to make adjustments – but these need not necessarily be uncomfortable, or expensive or impractical adjustments. We will be important parts of the process of change; we will need to count on ourselves and each other in making them.

Here is an interesting thought about making repairs: “There is the planet to consider. The sociologist Pierre Bourdieu might have considered mending my socks to be an act of resistance against the culture of fast-moving consumer goods; the environmental catastrophe of high capitalism” (1)

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/04/in-finding-beauty-in-the-broken-we-can-form-a-bridge-between-the-mundane-and-the-divine?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … day 219

21st November 2024

Any alterations made to reduce carbon emissions need to be sustainable in the long term. Simply switching all combustion engines for electric ones is not sustainable as each new electric engine will make unsustainable demands on rare minerals. Further mining such minerals where they are found in less developed countries often leads to the exploitation of people and pollution of the land.

Sustainability can be improved by the frequency with which a vehicle is used. A car that spends most of its life parked in the road, is not a sustainable use of limited resources, where as a bus or train that is in frequent use, carry larger numbers of people is a more sustainable option.

Active travel is always a good option with low emissions and significant health benefits!

Counting on … day 218

20 November 2024

While the power sector has done the heavy lifting of Britain’s emissions cuts so far, the 2035 target will require bigger cuts in sectors such as domestic transport — which accounts for more than a quarter of Britain’s emissions — and buildings, responsible for about a fifth.(1)

The transport industries – providers and manufacturers- the government and we as users, need to each make the shift to sustainable travel options.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65c0d15863a23d0013c821e9/2022-final-greenhouse-gas-emissions-statistical-release.pdf

Counting on … day 217

19th November 2024

Last week the UK announced its 2035 NDC* target – to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% on 1990 levels. The previous 2035 target was for a 78% reduction. The UK has an interim target of cutting greenhouse gases by 68% by 2030.

Greenpeace UK’s senior political adviser, Rebecca Newsom, said in a statement. “But targets need to be backed up with bold action. When the government submits its action plan next year, it must include details of how the UK will deliver a full phase out of oil and gas.” Hopefully we can count on the government to curtail the development of the Rosebank oil field. The development of the oilfield is in the balance as judges on Scotland deliberate as to the legality of the original licensing process.

nationally determined contribution – ie each nations’s undertaking to reduce national emissions so as to meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement

Counting on … day 216

18th November 2024

One of the slogans of climate activism is ‘Make the Polluters Pay’ which feels very right and grounded in what is just – a sort of global scale ‘Rylands and Fletcher’ case: if A uses the land and in so doing damages land belonging to B, then A must pay damages to B. So if Shell’s extracting of oil pollutes the adjoining land, Shell should pay the appropriate sum in damages.

Burning fossil fuels pollutes the atmosphere, increasing levels of carbon dioxide, fuelling climate change and triggering damaging adverse weather events such as floods, droughts, wildfires etc. logically the polluters – those burning the fossil fuels – should pay up. But fossil fuels have been burnt by so many different people – individuals heating their homes, small metal workshops, whole industries, transport systems etc -and over a considerable period of time. The United Kingdom has produced a cumulative total of 79,777,710,000 tonnes of CO2 since 1750. When we then call on the Government to ensure payment of a fair share in climate finance to vulnerable countries in the global south, that payment needs to reflect the scope of the damage our nation has caused.

Counting on … day 215

15th November 2024

How much climate finance is needed?

“This year’s UN climate summit, being held in Azerbaijan, is focused on finance, and specifically the new collective quantified goal (NCQG) for climate finance, required under the 2015 Paris agreement. Rich countries are bound under the agreement to provide climate finance to help developing nations cut their greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of the climate crisis. The current finance goal, of providing $100bn a year to poor countries, is widely acknowledged to be inadequate, and most rich countries agree the figure needs to be several times higher.

Poor countries are asking for finance of about $1tn a year by 2035, based on widely accepted estimates of their needs. Rich countries are likely to agree to a considerably smaller sum, perhaps about half that amount, to be paid from their exchequers and through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank.

The gap could be met from a variety of means, including new taxes on fossil fuels or the diversion of existing subsidies to cleaner ends. These “innovative sources of finance” will not be fully articulated or agreed at Cop29 and will need further work.” (1)

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/08/cop29-climate-talks-what-would-a-good-outcome-look-like?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on day 214

14th November 2024

“Let’s dispense with any idea that climate finance is charity;” runaway climate change is impacting “every single individual in the world one way or another,” Mr. Stiell, the UN climate chief, said on Monday.

Why do poorer nations (in particular) need climate finance? Because it can enable them to:

take action to mitigate against the causes of climate change – eg switching to renewable energy, replacing wood/coal fired cooking stoves with electric ones, greening heavy industry;
take action to adapt to the ongoing effects of climate change – eg insulating buildings against extremes of heat, upgrading flood defences, improving early weather warning systems;
cover the costs of damage caused by extreme weather and other destructive effects caused by climate change.

Counting on day 213

13th November 2024

Adapting lifestyles and infrastructure to cope with the already present aspects of the climate crisis do not come cheaply – although it is definitely (infinitely) cheaper than the cost of making good the damage that would otherwise occur.

Not all countries can afford these essential costs. As a matter of justice and of common human decency we need to count on the world leaders to both agree and – most importantly – to pay their fair contribution to enable all global citizens to be protected.

“Poorer developing nations are struggling to find the money to meet those increasingly urgent challenges, with this week’s Adaptation Gap report putting their annual adaptation needs at $215 billion-$387 billion, against international public funding of about $28 billion in 2022.

Wealthy governments say they’re on track to deliver a goal to double adaptation finance from 2019 levels by 2025, to around $40 billion a year – but that would only reduce the adaptation finance gap by about 5%, the report warned. (1)

https://www.climatechangenews.com/2024/11/08/rich-nations-on-track-to-double-adaptation-finance-but-huge-gap-persists/?utm_source=Climate+Weekly&utm_campaign=92eb3c50b7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_10_25_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33c1cd21bb-408145328