COP 26

I am going to try not to get too gloomy.

But.

I heard someone on the radio quote a politician. They know what must be done but they don’t know how to get elected afterwards.

I heard a program all about the extensive green washing of the past to spread doubt on emerging evidence of climate change. Today big companies try to distract us with a tree planting campaigns, and even the colour green. They carry on.

I heard Cop 26 Spokeswoman Allegra Stratton being interviewed at lunch time yesterday. The new UK coal mine can only be decided by the local authority, yet the final decision will now be with the Secretary of State. It is entirely within the Governments power to say no.  Yes, I understand that coal allows combustion at a temperature to enable steel production from which wind turbines are made. But 80% of this coal is apparently destined for abroad.

Have I mentioned that the Government excluded the CO2 emissions from incineration in the new UK Emissions Trading Scheme? Our local incinerator will produce 600,000 TPA, that’s 500,000 TPA of CO2. The UK empowers itself to ignore this CO2 when is assesses how our attempts to reach Net 0 are progressing. Wonder if the planet can?

So, no I don’t have much faith.

Neither do I think that we should shrug our shoulders (nationally or as individual’s), because China continues to pollute, we must lead the way. What we do will make a difference.

Its going to come from us. Those, like me who are older but do not want to be part of the generation that lets our children down, and those who don’t even know the burden they have to bear.

Its going to happen through our actions and daily decisions, small and large. If, for example, our buying decisions are based on the quantity and type of packaging. Where we invest our money. Weather or not we leave the grass verge uncut or pave over our gardens. Everything makes a difference to make matters better, because everything combines to create the problem in the first place.

We, can do this.