ENVIRONMENT
There aren’t ten things to do to fight climate change For this issue of The Stag, I suggested I would write a quick article on ten things to do to fight climate change. Nothing complex, a quick article that I could knock out in half an hour over the Easter Holidays. But as I began writing it, I realised that I was struggling to think of anything beyond the first point I had written - to vote. Obviously, the majority of the College aren’t old enough to vote as of yet. But you will be. In the fight against climate change, it often feels as though it’s been left to us. We’re called upon to examine our carbon footprint, to ensure that we’re recycling, that we’re not driving unnecessarily. All of these things have a place, and I’m not going to say that they’re useless. Of course, by avoiding the drive to work you’re reducing your own personal emissions - but ultimately that’s a drop in the ocean.
- if all of us boycotted palm oil from tomorrow then the effect would be drastic. But the fact is that it’s near-impossible to organise a boycott on a sufficient scale. If you’ll indulge the cynic in me for a moment, it’s always worth noting that one of the first attempts at a personal carbon footprint calculator was developed and popularised by BP. It seems awfully convenient for them to take the blame off of their shoulders and onto the general public, doesn’t it?
“71% of the world’s emissions since 1988 come from 100 companies” Mr Medlycott has recently taken over the Eco Committee. When he asked if I wanted to join, he suggested that the focus on the committee should lie not in beach cleans and recycling paper (though these are of course helpful activities) but in inspiring the young people that are going to go on to become leaders (and voters) in our society. I am firmly of the belief that true action on climate change can only come from the top. We need regulation, subsidies and funding to emerge from this crisis - all the recycling bins in the world cannot accomplish this.
“True action on climate change can only come from the top” Here’s the fact of the matter: 71% of the world’s emissions since 1988 come from 100 companies. This isn’t news. It was concluded by the CDP’s Carbon Majors Report in 2017. So why are we being repeatedly told that climate change rests, in part, on our shoulders? Of course, we exercise some level of buying power
So, if you’re going to take one thing away from this article, I implore you to vote. I implore you to write to your MPs. I implore you to take advantage of the democracy that we live in. Action on climate change should not be a matter of party politics. It will affect all of us no matter which side of the political spectrum you stand on. William Brown, Year 13 Reeves House
