Climate Change

What are we to make of the continuing rows about climate change? Who does anyone believe when most of us are not really qualified to read and understand the science, or even have a view in the debates between those who believe that climate change is man-made and those who do not.

As I hope people have gathered from other postings around my site I am trying to take a constructive position in this debate and to do this knowing that recent polls have shown that the majority of the British people do not believe that man-made actions are responsible - I actually do believe man has a role but really do not know how great that role is.

For me there are two aspects to this. Firstly, the planet is warming and we need to do something to mitigate the reality of this, however it is caused.

Secondly, even if you are a climate sceptic, then you must agree that doing something to prevent the destruction of the planets resources, and ending the poisoning of the planet through the use of things such as landfill, has got to be a priority. But then this is also a matter of our own personal health. Air less polluted by carbon and other pollutants has got to be good for us and our children.

I therefore believe we need to see a move away from using fossil fuels to power our cars and heat our homes. My view is that for too long we have allowed car manufacturer's get away with the idea that cleaner fuels are not a priority and therefore have let them invest too little in finding alternative fuels. I also believe that our energy policy needs to be derived from a balance of renewable energy and nuclear.

Equally, we need to find a comprehensive set of arguments for 'environmental' change that do not depend solely on the 'climate' change argument. I say this because I believe that if you remove the argument about who caused the problem then we can establish a much more coherent set of reasons for changing the way we lives our lives. We need to demonstrate how much better life can be for us and our children rather than have the arguments over whether climate change is happening and what has caused it. Why do I say this? Well, I think that the public will always be confused by this for as long as the decisions are forced upon people using statistics of some long-off time when many of those who are alive today will not be alive. It is always difficult to get anybody to focus on scientific targets when the effects of not doing something will not affect the lives of them or their children. That is why I believe a new approach is required. But equally, as we saw at the Copenhagen conference, the arguments around the causes are allowing nations with little to gain from changing their lifestyle to delay taking action.

It is time for the politics of the Nudge, not the politics of the Directive. We need to show people how recycling can better help them in their daily life – maybe by reductions in your Council Tax. We need to demonstrate that public transport can be a better alternative than the car - but not force people off the road. We need to move away from burning fossil fuels for energy and move to renewables. We need to demonstrate that changing peoples actions will change their lives and will save the planet. But, telling people that not changing their lives will lead to the planet not being habitable long after them and their children have passed away will not win the argument.