Play To Win

from EssentialsMAG June 2023 – South Wrexham Magazine

Soapbox Derby

By EssentialsMAG environment contributor ROB RENOUF

Wrexham AFC is currently enjoying incredible success and like many, I’m loving every minute of it! It’s scary to realise that a ‘realistic’ timeframe for Wrexham AFC reaching the Premier League might not be far off the government’s target date for delivering net zero. Based on recent progress, I think the former is looking far more likely to actually happen than the latter! So, could adopting elements of Wrexham’s approach enhance our response to the climate emergency?

Deeds not words

This month is the fourth anniversary of the UK Government setting its 2050 net zero target. So how much has really changed since then? Unfortunately, the truth is nowhere near enough - the government’s own independent advisers have expressed concern about the “scant evidence of delivery”. In contrast, the progress made by Wrexham in the two years since Rob and Ryan took over is clearly evident. If they’d said the aim was to reach the Premier League by 2050 and then done nothing about it, I imagine fans would be getting very restless by now. Like getting to the Premier League, reaching net zero is a huge challenge involving signiﬁcant time and effort, which is why we need to be making real progress right now.

Listen to the experts

Rob and Ryan have said that a critical component in their success has been allowing people with the necessary expertise to make key decisions.

There’s widespread consensus on what needs to be done to tackle climate change - the advice from the experts is clear and what is required from the government is to implement it rapidly.

Proven methods

Wrexham AFC brought in a manager and players with proven track records - they didn’t gamble on unknown quantities or try to invent a new way of playing football. We have ways of tackling climate change that are proven to work, such as insulating homes to reduce energy consumption. Whereas, gambling on new technologies, like carbon capture, which are unproven at anywhere near the scale required, is unnecessary and reckless. 15 years in the National League felt bad enough, but failure to act now on the climate crisis will have horrendous consequences lasting thousands of years.

Wrexham AFC currently provides a textbook example of how to achieve success by doing the right things. Applying some of the same principles to tackling the climate emergency will increase the likelihood that we’ll be able to celebrate success there as well.

Rob Renouf robsrenouf@gmail.com