Category: Counting On …

Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on

Counting on … day 1.121

9th July 2023

Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and Good Law Project to take government to court over inadequate climate action plans – again! https://www.clientearth.org/latest/press-office/press/uk-government-faces-fresh-legal-challenge-over-unlawful-climate-plans/?utm_source=net-zero2&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

A legal challenge was successfully made last year that the Government’s net zero strategy was unlawful because it did not cut emissions sufficiently to meet its legally binding targets. The Government was required by the High Court to produce a revised strategy which they have done but it still falls short of the required reduction in emissions, and ignoring the advise of the Climate Change Committee. Hence the repeated legal challenge!

Counting on …. Day 1.120

8th July 2023

Them Climate Change Committee has this week produced its annual Progress Report to Parliament – https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/2023-progress-report-to-parliament/

The CCC notes that whilst UK greenhouse gas emissions have  fallen 46% from 1990 levels this is well short of the 68% by 2030 target agreed at COP26. The reeducation in emissions will have to increase fourfold to meet this target.  

“Time is now very short to achieve this change of pace. Glimmers of the Net Zero transition can be seen in growing sales of new electric cars and the continued deployment of renewable capacity, but the scale up of action overall is worryingly slow. The Government continues to place their reliance on technological solutions that have not been deployed at scale, in preference to more straightforward encouragement of people to reduce high-carbon activities. The Committee has again flagged the risks of a policy programme that amongst other things is too slow to plant trees and roll-out heat pumps.”

Can we count on  this government and the next to fully address these issues? Can we increase the pressure on government and businesses to act? 

Counting on …. Day 1.118

6th July 2023

Climate change is happening whatever we may think. It is visible in small and often overlooked ways. This article from the Guardian tells how climate change can be seem in the shape and growth of a horse’s hoof.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/05/country-diary-clink-clop-clink-clop-goes-the-sound-of-a-loose-horseshoe?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on …. Day 1.117

5th July 2023

All plastic producers rely on investment from banks and pension funds etc to continue to expand their operations.   The Just Money Movement’s director, Sarah Edwards, says, “We are called to care for God’s creation but the way we produce and dispose of plastics is fuelling the climate crisis, polluting oceans, and endangering people’s health. Many individuals and church communities are taking steps to cut down on single-use plastics, but major High Street banks continue to invest in the crisis we’re trying so hard to tackle. HSBC is the largest bank in the UK and has a responsibility to take urgent action to address the crisis” the Just Money Movement is running a campaign HSBC to:

  1. set targets for reducing financed emissions in the plastics industry as part of HSBC’s climate strategy.
  2. withdraw from financing the expansion of single-use plastic production.
  3. engage with companies that use plastics intensively (notably, plastic packaging) to reduce their consumption of plastics at source in absolute terms and invest in business models to achieve this.
  4. urgently scale up finance to companies providing solutions to address overconsumption of plastics at source, such as reuse systems.

You can support the campaign by signing their open letter – https://justmoney.org.uk/speak-out/dont-bank-on-plastics/

Counting on …. Day 1.15

3rd July 2023

Wimbledon fortnight starts today. This year’s sponsor for the event is Barclays Bank, one the biggest investors in fossil fuels . Tennis – like many sports – has to find ways of doing with climate change and in particular with the problems of sudden heavy rains and the challenges of playing the game when temperatures soar to impractically high levels. It seems bizarre that such a sport would accept sponsorship from companies that are increasing the magnitude of the climate crisis. 

Make My Money Matter is co-ordinating an open letter from businesses and NGOs, activists and academics, celebrities and climate leaders, calling on Wimbledon to end its sponsorship agreement with Barclays.

To find out more about Make My Money Matter, visit their web site https:/makemymoneymatter.co.uk/

Counting on …. Day 1.157

2nd July 2023

The psalmists often tell of God being a refuge for us, a place of safety. 

Gardens can be a refuge, a place of safety  for insects and small creatures especially if we let plants grow with an abandon that creates shelter spaces away from predators, and  safe corridors through and between gardens. If we let plants go to seed, and if we ignore aphids and similar ‘pests’ we are providing a supply of food. Regularly refreshed water bowls provide drinking water and bathing,   and patches of damp earth can provide building material for birds and insects. 

And such gardens can for us too be a place of refuge and safety, a place to be with God.

Counting on …. Day 1.156

1st July 2023

Just as banks and pension funds finance the fossil fuel industry, so these same institutions are investing money in the production of plastic. As part of Plastic Free July, this is  perhaps something to think on. The Just Money Movement is campaigning on this – 

Click to access Dont-Bank-on-Plastic-Printable.pdf

  • and has a petition that you can sign –
Don’t Bank on Plastics

Counting on …. Day 1.155

30th June 2023

The Climate Change Committee has this week produced its annual Progress Report to Parliament – https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/2023-progress-report-to-parliament/

The CCC notes that whilst UK greenhouse gas emissions have  fallen 46% from 1990 levels this is well short of the 68% by 2030 target agreed at COP26. The reeducation in emissions will have to increase fourfold to meet this target.  

“Time is now very short to achieve this change of pace. Glimmers of the Net Zero transition can be seen in growing sales of new electric cars and the continued deployment of renewable capacity, but the scale up of action overall is worryingly slow. The Government continues to place their reliance on technological solutions that have not been deployed at scale, in preference to more straightforward encouragement of people to reduce high-carbon activities. The Committee has again flagged the risks of a policy programme that amongst other things is too slow to plant trees and roll-out heat pumps.”

Can we count on  this government and the next to fully address these issues? Can we increase the pressure on government and businesses to act? 

For further background on this – https://greentau.org/2023/05/30/green-tau-issue-70/

Counting on …. Day 1.154

29th June 2023

An interesting article on the Joy in Enough website –  https://joyinenough.org/2023/06/27/are-we-normalising-plastic-pollution-in-the-name-of-childrens-creativity/ – pointed out that many craft materials used by children are plastic based. This is a pity given how many plastic-free materials can be used – wool (as opposed to polyester) felt, champagne corks, paper, card and tissue paper, clay, buttons, balsa wood, aluminium foil, pipe cleaners (the smoker’s ones are made of cotton not polyester), beer bottle tops, soap (good for carving), pine cones, confers and acorns, twigs, paper straws and paper plates …..