Too much hot air at climate change summit
COP 26 is the biggest show in town right now. Billionaires, Hollywood royalty, real royalty and world leaders have all descended on Glasgow for the landmark climate change conference.
I’ve seen it described as the biggest event in Britain since the 2012 Olympics. All we needed was an opening ceremony with the Queen parachuting in from a carbon neutral helicopter and it would be complete.
Sensibly, however – well, technically on doctors’ orders
– Her Majesty stayed at home, but she still stole the show delivering her opening address remotely via video link.
And it did make me think, if the Queen could speak to the assembled crowd and the world from her living room, why couldn’t everyone else and save all those climate-damaging air miles?
That’s the problem with this summit. Not only does it ask more questions than it answers, it also feels really disconnected from planet Earth.
Billionaires lecturing us after flying in on their private jets just leaves a bad taste.
One of the world’s richest, Jeff Bezos, jetted in to say he only understood how fragile the Earth is after he’d blasted into space at a cost of a reported $5.5billion. Seriously, what planet is the Amazon boss on?
At least Greta Thunberg arrived with no frills. Say what you like about her, she’s someone who practises what she preaches.
It leaves people itching to know what they can do to play their part on a personal everyday level.
The policies bandied around by the Government are leaving ordinary working people priced out.
Electric cars are expensive. And the government wants people to replace gas boilers with heat pumps and is offering £5,000 towards the cost. But how does that help when the units themselves cost over £10,000 and the running costs can be 50% more than gas boilers?
I want to do my bit. Not least because I get constant lectures from my six-year-old son who’s obsessed with green issues and saving the planet.
I’ve cut down on the amount of time I spend in the shower. I work from home with the heating off and wear extra layers and thick socks so I minimise heat consumption.
I know I could do better on travel and using my car, but when your local station only has two trains an hour, which are often cancelled or late, sometimes driving is the more attractive option.
I can certainly do better on red meat. Cows produce a huge amount of emissions from their wind. And cutting down is not only better for the planet, it’s healthier too.
But it still doesn’t feel nearly enough. A colleague said to me the other day it feels like we’re living in a disaster movie and we’re all waiting for Bruce Willis to save us. He’s right. Our treatment of the planet has been a disaster. The problem is, Bruce isn’t coming to save us. The only people we can rely on are ourselves.
The problem here is COP 26 asks more questions than it answers