18 Facts That Reveal Why We're All Hypocrites On Climate Change

Or why we're failing to lower our Co2 emissions

1. You may have noticed how hardly anyone talks about climate change

Via RSA report 'A New Agenda on Climate Change'

Only 60 per cent of British adults have ever spoken about climate change, and of those, 71 per cent do so for less than ten minutes; 43 per cent for less than 5 minutes.

2. The reason is that most of us are in denial about the problem

thersa.org / Via YouGov

In the UK, 80% of us accept global warming is happening but 66% of us are still not convinced that our own actions are part of the problem.

3. And carbon emissions remain way down on our list of priorities

buzzfeed.com

Most people would choose economic growth over cutting emissions despite fears over climate change

4. We are simply not facing up to the fact that Co2 has been allowed to climb to its highest levels ever

Via IPCC (2013)

This year, a landmark report by the UN's climate panel says scientists are 95% certain that humans are the "dominant cause" of global warming since the 1950s and that it poses a grave threat to the human habitat.

5. And that climate change is already happening

Via Getty Images

Three million properties in England, including No 10 Downing Street, are at risk of flash flooding, according to new maps published by the Environment Agency in December 2013. In total, 5m properties in England are at risk, when those threatened by river and coastal floods are also counted.

6. So what is going wrong? Well, first, our modest attempts to combat Co2 emissions haven't worked very well

Via UK government's "Green Deal With It" campaign

The government’s Green Deal helps reduce our fuel bills (and cuts our emissions) via investment in energy efficiency measures such as insulation. The latest figures indicate that only 384 households have signed up for improvements, out of more than 71,000 households that received assessments under the scheme.

7. And when we do reduce our bills - we just spend the extra cash on holidays abroad or bargains in the January sales

Via Getty Images (Selfridges)

Spending the money we've save on reduced energy bills on other energy intensive activities are known as 'rebound effects'. A House of Commons Select Committee report shows that if you count the carbon it takes to produce all the goods we buy, British emissions are still going UP, not down.

8. Second, our efforts to become more energy efficient appear to have no connection with the global production and consumption of fossil fuels

Via BP’s 2012 Statistical Review of World Energy

Although renewable energy is increasing – it’s failing to substitute our use of fossil fuels. Just 90 companies produced almost 2/3rds of greenhouse gas emissions between 1751 and 2010 (roughly half of which were emitted in the last 25 years) and they were virtually all energy companies.

9. In fact, our government’s policy is to expand new ways of getting more fuel out of the ground

Via Telegraph

Shale gas may be less harmful to the climate than coal, but it’s still a fossil fuel, causing emissions that are as bad as natural gas. Nonetheless, Britain’s advisory body on climate change has said we should push ahead with fracking – a further illustration that climate change is not the priority it should be.

10. And if we are still allowing fossil fuels to be extracted, that means ‘business as usual’, or in other words, ‘emissions going in the wrong direction’

Via Duncan Clark (The Burning Question)

We need to accept that fossil fuels are the driving force behind climate change. If we don’t wake up to their impact on global warming then it's likely we won’t meet our current pledges on Co2 emissions.

11. So who, if anyone is to blame? Well some people point to these guys…

China now burns half of the world's coal and its deteriorating environment and hazardous levels of air pollution are issues that regularly make the headlines in the local and international press.

12. And some point to this man (and his huskies) too

Via Reuters

When Mr Cameron became Tory leader in 2005 he promised to focus the party’s attention on protecting the environment, and once used the election slogan: “Vote blue, go green.” He also pledged to lead the “greenest government ever”. But most British NGOs walked out of the recent UN climate conference in Warsaw because Governments appeared to be placing the interests of the fossil fuel industry ahead of our need to retain a liveable planet.

13. Perhaps it's the fault of the polar bears?

Via Futuretimeline

The environmental lobby often calls for action on global warming by pointing out how polar bears are struggling to survive, but it is not clear if this message helps motivate people enough to put pressure on the Government.

14. But no, the heart of the matter is that it’s our fault, because we point the finger at politicians instead of giving them a clear mandate to act

Via Greenpeace

You could say that this abject failure to face up to global warming is the political tragedy of our generation. We expect politicians to do something on our behalf, but their political will depends on what the electorate choose to care and talk about.

15. So what can we do? For starters, we can call on our pension funds to stop investing in fossil fuel infrastructure and redirect funds to invest in renewable energy.

Pension funds view fossil fuels as good investments, and most people with pensions are complicit in perpetuating that association. Almost anyone with a financial stake in global society is a part-owner of a fossil fuel reserve.

16. And we can call on the government to do more of this kind of thing…

Via #itshappening

Did you know that Scotland hosts Europe's largest tidal power project? Pentland Firth has some of the most powerful tides in Europe, and it will soon be home to the continent's largest tidal energy project.

17. But above all, we can play our own part in having a much better national conversation

Via The Sun

Downing Street has said it does not recognise reports that David Cameron ordered aides to "get rid of all the green crap" from energy bills in a drive to bring down costs.

18. One where even the polar bears might be tempted to join in

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