Climate change is a serious challenge for every single one of us except, it seems, George Bush. Jyoti Banerjee checks out his own carbon footprint while assessing the environment’s impact on growth.
Nick Stern’s review of the economic consequences of climate change (commissioned by the UK Treasury) is nearly upon us. He is expected to announce that climate change will result in a 20% fall in global output, the sort of scale of negative impact on growth and development we might expect from a world war. Read Robert Peston's review of the Stern Review here.
In macro-economic terms, the plunging economic performance comes from a mix of factors:
dealing with lower agricultural and food output; the increased depreciation of capital due to its redeployment on things like sea defences as well as the greater pace of technological obsolescence (we will be throwing away our heating systems and installing air-conditioning, for example); and the adverse impact of climate change on people’s skills and development.
There is no doubt that climate change has moved into a higher gear. Many environmentalists now doubt that we can turn back the tide. We, and our children, will have to live with the consequences of our actions, and the actions of our parents and grandparents.
This year a chunk of polar ice the size of Turkey melted into the ocean water. It raised sea levels and it meant the loss of some of the icecap. The latter effect meant that white icecap, which plays a crucial role in reflecting sunlight back into space, was replaced by dark water which absorbs the heat from sunlight rather more than a reflecting icecap. Both consequences are exacerbating negative trends in climate change.
The government in the UK has a well known, oft-trumpeted, target of reducing carbon emissions by 60% by the year 2050. Right now that target looks pretty remote. The rate of growth in emissions from the airline industry, fuelled by a mad charge for more budget air-travel, is such that to meet the 60% target all other emissions will have to drop to zero. Clearly, that magnitude of change is not going to happen without massive interventionist strategies.
Already, some businesses are going carbon-neutral. Apart from enhancing their brand image and engendering employee loyalty, those companies that are engaged in such actions find that paying attention to the environment makes good business sense as well.
Jeremy Warner’s article in the Independent this week talks about the decision made by James Murdoch, ceo of satellite broadcaster BSkyB, to make the company carbon-neutral. No figures have been released by Murdoch on the costs of going carbon-neutral, possibly because there are no costs. Carbon-neutral behaviour is good behaviour from a profits perspective. More businesses need to pay attention to this.
Personal footprint
But how much impact do we make on climate change ourselves?
Recently the Royal Society of the Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce (RSA) introduced the Five a Year challenge. In a country where average carbon emissions per capita are nine tonnes a year, the RSA’s challenge to individuals is to get their emissions down to five tonnes per year. And if you are responsible for more than five tonnes of carbon emissions annually, the RSA suggests participating in personal carbon trading.
For some years, I have felt increasingly driven to taking actions that lower my environmental footprint – no, I am not a rabid greenie, but I do feel a sense of stewardship for an earth that is not mine to destroy, especially for personal benefit. At home this has meant low energy bulbs where appropriate, switching off electricity when not needed, and the installation of triple glazed windows. My car changed from being a guzzling 21 mpg executive wagon to an aluminium-bodied machine that sips fuel at a rate better than 55 mpg.
How much benefit does this bring in terms of carbon footprint? Well, I really had no idea, till the introduction of the RSA’s personal carbon trading system. Now I can use the RSA’s Carbon Limited site to estimate my personal footprint. Amazingly, my carbon footprint turns out to be 4.5 tonnes a year, so I am already meeting the suggested target. Any of you struggling to hit your personal target are welcome to buy a half tonne of emissions from me…
A bigger challenge for me is that nearly forty percent of my emissions come from two inter-continental trips I will make this year, to Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. Both trips are in connection with an international charity where I am on the board. My involvement in the charity is driven by ethical and faith commitments I have made – yet it is that involvement which is resulting in an increase in my emissions.
So what can we do about climate change? At a personal level, we need to fly much less, be responsible with the cars we drive (or walk, use public transport, etc), be prepared to vote for politicians prepared to invest in nuclear energy, and so on.
But for our organisations, we need to put plans in place for dealing with a world where extreme chaos is normal, and growth will be negative. Welcome to Climate Change.
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