Countdown to 2020
Countdown to 2020
Scotland Lights up Malawi has seen an exciting new partnership with Scottish Renewables start on a high at the Scottish Renewables Conference last week. The Conference gave a platform to share the campaign with those passionate about the Renewables Industry. We had a very busy stand (helped by Ian’s plug and perhaps the sweets on offer) throughout the two days, with a large number of encouraging conversations. Watch this space as we engage and develop these new connections.
We look forward to partnering with Scottish Renewables in the months to come, and in preparation of the Green Energy Awards in December 2015, where Scotland Lights up Malawi will be one of the chosen campaigns to support. Tanks to Scottish Renewables for the opportunity!
As many of you will be aware, last weekend millions of people throughout the world united for Climate Action partaking in ‘Earth Hour”. Ruth Milliken wrote a blog post where she challenged people to consider committing to Climate Justice as a way of helping address the protection of our planet.
The Giving update: we are delighted to say we have raised just over £328k, with only £1,900 to get us to the next landmark of £330k (out of £400k target). If you, your team and/or company are interested in playing your part by contributing towards this campaign we would be delighted to hear from you!! Email Ruth to discuss your ideas or she may help you develop one!
Real life and real carbonLast week I was fortunate enough to be invited along to the Sustainable Process Improvement (SPI) end of Programme Awards.
In 2012 the Crichton Carbon Centre launched a three year Sustainable Process Improvement (SPI) programme which is a fully funded programme of support for small and medium sized businesses (SME), designed to help achieve resource savings and improve SMEs bottom lines. This programme was sponsored by the 2020 Climate Group over the three years of its duration.
The Sustainable Process Improvement programme helped the business to:
The programme works with the SMEs to review their business operations, identifying opportunities for implementing or improving sustainable business practice. The programme evolved, from something very structured to something much more flexible and honed to the shape of each individual business over its lifetime. Even incorporating benchmarking and product life cycles analysis in year 3.It is a fairly comprehensive programme including in-depth assessments, creation of action plans, and what I like to call supportive encouragement (or professional nagging ). The friendly chasing phone calls and reminders of deadlines, needed to chivvy anyone along and to keep actions and activities in the front of the mind. All this support was provided free of charge to the business and was developed in a bespoke way meeting the varying requirements and nuances of each individual business. So was it successful? I would say an absolutely resounding YES! It was very inspiring and comforting to me to hear these small, often family owned businesses talking so knowledgably about LED lighting, thermal efficiency and sustainability data monitoring for their business. A few confided in me that they don’t really get the whole ‘environment thing’ but were pleased enough to embrace the cost savings, positive customer feedback and enhanced products that resulted from their efforts. Which is actually what really matters anyway.
There were definitely some hugely tangible results and some great stories of businesses taking a strong leadership in their local area around sustainability. I especially loved Tartan Rocket’s wind turbine shaped pastries and innovative eco sandwich packaging and Queen’s Hotel growing veg to be served in their restaurant to appreciative customers.You can read about the businesses that took part here. There has been a great emphasis on encouragement for embedding sustainability to run alongside business plans, with examples of successful strategic integration including JJR Print, Diamond Power and Farish’s (Dumfries), and encouragement for sustainability to be part of an ongoing programme of staff training running beyond SPI.However there does pose a question in my mind, that there seams to be a need for a large up front free resource required to engage, encourage and activate organisations around the agenda of climate change and sustainability. And I fear this can also be said for members of the 2020 Climate Group too. Is this level of resource in itself sustainable? When will things get easier, or will there always be requirement for carrots and sticks to orchestrate movement on the sustainability agenda?
I do not doubt that the programme has been worth it, and the businesses and councils that have taken part obviously value the work that has been done.
ONE: UnitedWednesday saw the Scottish Renewables Annual Conference take place and the end of a busy few days for the Scotland Lights up Malawi campaign as we raised awareness of our project at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.
Having been commented about, for being a little random and rare feature at such an event, it turned out a campaign such as Scotland Lights up Malawi was a welcomed rarity.
Being set apart for being something different from the ‘norm’ and lets not forget the all important plug Ian gave during the opening panel, it is without doubt, the conference provided a great opportunity (with our thanks go to Scottish Renewables for inviting us) for the team to share the vision and impact this campaign is having with both fellow exhibitors and delegates attending and how they could play a part in the campaign!
This one occasion brought together people with a shared common interest in renewable energy and its industry - a shared passion and as I have reflected on the conference and the response to the campaign, it made me think about the many times in life we are brought together as one, united in interest, purpose and / or love.
I suspect if you are anything like me, it wont take you long to think of some of those experiences you have enjoyed, observed or played a part in, whether in a small or large way in life, of which some may have been life-changing, some we will never know the real effects and others will have provided memories we will share with many or few.
As I reflect, the key ones standing out in my mind in recent months are, the delights of enjoying, contributing and supporting such efforts as the wonderful, life changing work of Comic Relief. As a nation… uniting as one nation we helped raise a staggering £78,082,988 to support those in need here in the UK and Africa whilst having a good chuckle or two. Just think of the lives impacted by that money.
A new lasting memory that will be added to that of 1999 and nature at it’s best, brought us (along with many other countries) together in observation and as close to a stand still as I imagine we may ever experience - in admiration, intrigue and awe was the Solar Eclipse March 2015. I felt there was something comforting about the unity this experience brought, anyone and everyone could participate - there were no barriers.
On the other hand, we unfortunately also see nature at it’s worst. Regularly we are presented whether close to home or further afield the news of those suffering from the destruction of natural disasters. In reaction to such, we often find ourselves once more united in response helping those to overcome such experiences and one of the most recent disasters that resonates with Scotland Lights up Malawi was that of the Malawian Floods. The country having experienced torrential rain suffered horrific effects… displacing a quarter of a million people, destroying their homes; livelihoods, their crops, villages, livestock and food amongst many other aspects of live now and for many years to come.
Disturbingly these are the people that have so little already and are struggling for even the most basic human needs to be met, and sadly once again they pay a life changing cost.
Attributing such disasters to climate change, climate justice is critical to protect and assist those lives affected by the changing climate, by those who have benefited from emitting carbon and the burning of fossil fuels. A quarter of a million people lost the very little they had. I struggle to get my head around even life without energy (only 9% of 15.9million Malawians have electricity), never mind loosing our homes, food, livestock and livelihood.
So if you are someone who;
Then join us this weekend as:
ONE: United in Scotland Lights Malawi
ONE: Hour Observe with us the Earth Hour movement.
Saturday 28th March 8.30-9.30pm
A movement – celebrating our planet and reflecting on your commitment to in the next year to protect it.
On reflection of your hour without the energy reliant luxuries of our life - what is your commitment going to be this year to help protect out planet?
Could uniting for Climate Justice, through Scotland Lights up Malawi be the start for you – assisting those in need by helping provide a clean, beneficial, safe viable energy source that also heavily reduces carbon emissions?
One Text: To support Scotland Lights up Malawi and help support Scotland’s ambitions for climate justice then please:
Text Donate: SCOT20 £10 To 70070
Sub-note: Keep an eye on @2020ClimateGrp #2020Malawi on Saturday and to follow the campaign follow us on twitter and email: [email protected] to be added to the mailing list.
Communication and climate changeAs someone who works across both the business of public relations and communication and climate change, I was intrigued to read so many articles on people’ s thoughts on how to communicate climate change.
This article by The Guardian, talks about mobilising cultural practitioners to promote the understanding of climate change and I agree, there needs to be an understanding of the issue before people will change behaviours. Have a read to get the angle….
Like in my ‘day job’, analytics and statistics back up content or stories being built and it’s indeed the same for climate change, but even with these stats we’re finding it difficult for everyday people to understand. That’s potentially because there is jargon, technical language and also uninspired repetition of message and language, which people turn off to.
The Centre for Climate Change Communication is another interesting organisation who has built on informed research and analysis to change behaviour…for social good. Have a read about how they use science in the climate change battle.
Last year I initiated an informal group of public relations, marketing and communications professionals whom I know, across different businesses and organisations. The intention was to keep the conversation going, share information and support activity across the climate change and sustainability agenda. With over 50 people on that list, there is a force to be reckoned with if utilised appropriately, relevantly and in a timely manner. The PR and communications departments are often the unseen engine rooms of most businesses and organisations, ensuring internal and external communications are being strategically planned and executed and who better to engage and help spread the word?
So, it’s my suggestion that we follow the ethos of Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group to collaborate; this collaboration will see our communication become stronger, wider spread and have more impact. Through collaboration we can learn from mistakes, make use of best practice and help Scotland meet it’s target of a 42% reduction in ghg emissions by 2020. This also goes for all sectors of society!
The best and most timely example of communication and climate change came about yesterday from Virgin in this blog post (talk about timing eh?!). This post resonates with me and all that I’ve been talking about in the 2020 Climate Group. ‘Storytelling for change’ - my post is merely one small example compared to Virgin’s, but by collaborating to tell the story, see the impact broaden. I should just have reposted exactly what it said!
If you work in PR/communications and climate change, I’d love to hear from you! I’m @laurafromaura on Twitter, you can connect with me on LinkedIn or you can speak to the 2020 Climate Group via @2020ClimateGrp or via its LinkedIn page.
If you found this blog useful feel free to share it. One last ask! Check out Scotland Lights up Malawi and help spread the word or donate if you can! Much appreciated.
Scotland’s School ReportThe UK Committee on Climate Change has published its report on Scotland’s progress today. I kind of feel exactly as I did when getting my School report; Confident that Scotland has worked hard, worried that it might not have been enough. And that is exactly what the report says. Scotland has once again missed its annual targets, and actually emissions rose in 2012 by 0.5%. There are of course mitigating circumstances for this disappointing result, in particular the challenge of rebase lining which means we are actually still trying to, quoting Ian, shoot at a moving target. We must accept and agree a baseline and move on from this to embrace practical action. The report uses 2012 data, which feels like such a long time ago – the London Olympics feels like a different age and it’s only 500 days till Rio 2016! - hopefully things have moved on since then, so anything that can be done to speed up the process has got to be got to be beneficial.
But despite these issues it does raise the question – was Scotland too ambitious in setting these targets? I still firmly believe not. I believe that setting the targets slightly higher does encourage a more galvanized movement towards achieving them, but it would be really good if we can actually capitalize on this and actually meet or exceed the targets. But we could get too focused on just hitting the numbers. The most important bit of the report is the ‘Recommendations for the Scottish Government’. This details what Scotland can do more of to bring us inline to meet the target.
Reassuringly there are no real surprises and a few of the recommendations tie in really well with the 2020 Group’s step change challenges. The recommendations cover, heat, energy efficiency, the public sector, transport, agriculture, peatlands and forestry.
I hope the 2020 Climate Group can support the government in adopting many, if not all, of the recommendations.
Do they go far enough? Actually could Scotland be doing a lot more? Maybe – but these are as good a place to start as any.
You never stop learningEveryone playing their part…..
In collective efforts, Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB) and SolarAid, this week saw clusters of the teachers involved in the Scotland Lights up Malawi project come together for Professional Learning. The purpose of the sessions, spread across Scotland, over a week, was to provide the teachers with a deeper understanding of energy (including renewable), climate change, climate justice and SolarAid’s work. The 2020 Climate Group was invited along and I had the privilege of attending the Glasgow and Perth sessions.
Like any classroom or training room at the start of any new session the teacher sessions started off very quiet, whilst the participants got a feel for their surroundings and fellow teachers.
Grace (from SolarAid) seamlessly delivered the Sunny Money material in an interactive and interesting way, providing her colleagues on the ground with many thought-provoking and challenging ways to engage children in the class room. The discussion was around how to encourage children to think of the effects of our energy use and climate change on the world and in particular those most disadvantaged. I can assure you it was not long before the passion, intrigue and voices of the participants became louder and louder. Which must be a good sign, right?
The programme, developed by KSB through Eco-Schools Scotland, is exciting, informative and engaging. As part of this, we were given the opportunity to share more about where the 2020 Climate Group and the project has come from - this was not only welcomed but a very valuable experience. I am not sure if you agree but, I believe knowing where you come from, helps establish why you are where you are and do what you do… each affirming your purpose. Here’s what some of the teachers said after their workshop:
“Enjoyed learning more about the 2020 Climate Group and what their aim is.”
“Lots of information and resources available for my school. Engaging activities that will transfer into schools.”
“Excellent session. Very inspired to try some of the activities at school and try to build a campaign.”
I can say I have come away motivated and enriched. It has been a delight to work more closely with our fellow delivery partners and it has not only helped make the whole project even more tangible but has given me a greater appreciation for the roles and skills each of the partners are bringing to the table.
It brings home the value and beauty of working in collaboration once more, we each bring our own skill-set, ability, passion and drive to our specific areas but collectively play our part to help impact the lives whether its here in Scotland or Malawi.
In the reality of the 2020 Climate Group’s part in fundraising I am delighted to say we are just over £325,000 into our £400,000 target. I know I will incorporate the experience and encouragement of this week into the exciting fundraising plans ahead and look forward to celebrating and sharing with you the achievements still to come as they unfold.
My thanks go out to everyone playing their part to help make Scotland Lights up Malawi a reality!
Finally, if you would like to give towards Scotland Lights up Malawi – TEXT to donate to: ‘SCOT20 £10’ to 70070
Digital Changes Everything image gallery Reflections on the current climateWhat should we say?
I started this piece a couple of weeks ago with these words: “From my balcony at nearly 2,000 metres, I can see seven vapour trails above, and as I look to the west, several more. The sky is a patchwork of misty white lines on clear blue. Below, the mountains are also a patchwork, this time a mottled white and grey. Even at this altitude in January, the snowfall is irregular and quite a few slopes are exposed. The main ski runs are open though, and that is a relief. We’ve paid a little extra to come high up in the Alps so that we would be guaranteed snow to ski. It’s our first ski trip in four years and we want to make the best of it.
I can’t help but ponder on the connection between those vapour trails and the absence of seasonal snow. Intellectually, we know there is a problem with our climate. It’s been coming for years. The science is more and more clear. In fact, a news item caught my eye on the Internet as I searched for the weekend football results. “2014: Hottest year on record”. Climatologists and others agree that global warming poses a clear and present danger to civilisation, an “absolutely unprecedented emergency”. And time for serious action is apparently very short, in “Decade Zero”.
We are on a short holiday with our adult children. One of the joys is hearing them talk about their dreams and ambitions. But what sort of pretence are we engaging in? Dad going on about climate change, and the threats to the very fabric of society as we know it, has become a bit old hat and can strike a depressing note when we want to enjoy our time together. What should we say?”
Pondering on capitalism
Some time later, I can’t stop the pondering. I have been reading Naomi Klein’s latest magnum opus: This Changes Everything: Capitalism versus The Climate. In a sense, she is telling me nothing I didn’t know already but the clarity and precision with which she joins up the dots is compelling. There is effectively a conspiracy of vested interests. Ah, but she’s a left-winger? Anti-capitalism? Maybe she is on a crusade. I pick up (or rather open up on my I-Pad Kindle) Jeffrey Rifkin’s The Zero Marginal Cost Society. He makes the same points about the eclipse of capitalism, but from a completely different angle. And a colleague in the academic field last week sent a link to a survey in America showing that our view on the science of climate change is strongly linked to our political inclination. The more hierarchical and individualistic (“right wing”?), the more likely we are to be a “denier”. Cognitive biases lead us to filter out or reject information which is inconsistent with our worldview or belief system.
Klein argues that the major corporate interests, an elite minority, are well aware of the threats posed by climate change. Threats not just to our future as humans but to the deregulated capitalist model and the minority’s own ability to continue to generate profits and pursue its core cultural narrative under the present economic paradigm. A paradigm which both sustains them and is a major cause of the wider problem, based as it is on “extractivism”, or the burning of fossil fuels. So they fund climate scepticism in order to sow seeds of doubt about the kind of radical economic and social changes which we need in order to mitigate and adapt to the already existing, and certainly coming, threats. And that present economic paradigm, based on unsustainable growth, is winning. Klein describes it as “systematic sabotage”. Climate negotiations have stuttered while free trade and the corporate globalisation process has thrived and prevailed. “Our economic system and our planetary system are now at war,” she concludes. But the laws of nature won’t change. ….we “need an entirely new economic model”.
Rifkin sets out his stall: “The entropic bill for the Industrial Age has arrived. The accumulation in carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere from burning massive amounts of carbon energy has given rise to climate change and the wholesale destruction of the Earth’s biosphere, throwing the existing economic model into question. The field of economics, by and large, has yet to confront the fact that economic activity is conditioned by the laws of thermodynamics. The profession’s glaring misunderstanding of its own subject is what’s forcing a rethinking of the paradigm…”
Rifkin points to an extraordinary (“unprecedented - and unimaginable”) concentration of power and wealth in just a few corporate hands, built significantly on extracting and refining localised fossil fuels. He explains how this state of affairs arose. It is a logical extension of the economic structures we have created over the centuries, particularly in the First and Second Industrial Revolutions. It brought benefit to the lives of millions of consumers in industrialised economies. With it (as with socialism) came a command and control, centralised style of management – and bureaucracies. These powerful interests tend to block further progress in order to protect their own capital value. Klein describes the oil and gas industry as the richest and most powerful the world has ever known, and it is the subject of the Stern Review observation that the failure to charge the industry for its disposal of waste “represents the greatest market failure the world has ever seen.” And now Oxfam report that, very soon, just 1% of the world’s population could control over half of its wealth. Remarkable.
Most extraction must stop?
At a time when governments are calling for measures to shore up the oil industry and protect it from falling prices, little is said of another report (from the journal, Nature) that tells us that we need to leave unextracted most of the world’s present and still to be discovered fossil fuel reserves if dangerous global warming is to be avoided: “Over 80% of coal, 50% of gas and 30% of oil reserves are “unburnable” under the goal to limit global warming to no more than 2C”. This point, in the sense of the lack of future value in currently highly valued assets, was recently touched on also by the Governor of the Bank of England, and nicely sums up the Catch 22 situation described by Klein: the war between our economic system and our planetary system.
The co-author of the UKERC report on unburned carbon, Christophe McGlade, says: “Policy makers must realise that their instincts to completely use the fossil fuel within their own countries are wholly incompatible with their commitments to the 2degree C goal. If they go ahead with developing their own resources, they must be asked which reserves elsewhere should remain unburnt in order for the carbon budget not to be exceeded”.
George Monbiot wrote recently in The Guardian: “Researching Don’t Even Think About It, which I see as the most important book published on climate change in the past few years, George Marshall discovered that there has not been a single proposal, debate or even position paper on limiting fossil fuel production put forward during international climate negotiations. From the very outset fossil fuel production lay outside the frame of the discussions and, as with other forms of socially constructed silence, the social norms among the negotiators and policy specialists kept it that way. I would guess that it is not altogether inconvenient for governments to ignore the role of fossil fuel companies in causing climate change.”
Monbiot goes on: “While most states have not taken the astonishing, ecocidal step of making it a legal obligation, almost all are pursuing the same policy as the United Kingdom: maximising the production of fossil fuels. And almost all pay lip service to the idea of minimising greenhouse gas emissions. There is no attempt to resolve this contradiction, or even to acknowledge it. They don’t have to. They know that it will resolve itself. If the stuff keeps coming out of the ground, it will be burnt, without regard to the feeble policies seeking to limit its consumption.”
The Internet of Things
But, Rifkin argues, it cannot last. Striking a different tone from Klein, he sees real change. The “Collaborative Commons” is coming (or returning, as it predates both the capitalist market and representative democracy); indeed is here already, engaging billions of people. The “Internet of Things (IoT)”, namely advances in energy generation (mainly in renewables), hi-tech communication (for example MOOCs) and the means of production (or “logistics”, such as 3D printing), will provide the operating platform for a fundamental paradigm shift from capitalism/corporatism to open-source collaboration, innovation and peer to peer interdependence, with a wide (continental and global) distribution of production and services in a near zero marginal cost society, an economy of abundance rather than scarcity. And wealth will no longer be about financial reward for the few but about enhancing the common good, advancing the social well-being of humanity. Social capital rather than market capital. Sustainable quality of life rather than self-interested accumulation of wealth. The so-called “third sector” will be the dominant force in organising economic life this century. (I’ll return to the notion of the “third side” later.) Klein is on similar lines when she argues for a worldview that sees nature, other nations and our own neighbours “not as adversaries, but rather as partners in a grand project of mutual reinvention.”
Rifkin again: “What makes the IoT a disruptive technology in the way we organize economic life is that it helps humanity reintegrate itself into the complex choreography of the biosphere, and by doing so, dramatically increases productivity without compromising the ecological relationships that govern the planet. Using less of the Earth’s resources more efficiently and productively in a circular economy and making the transition from carbon-based fuels to renewable energies are defining features of the emerging economic paradigm. In the new era, we each become a node in the nervous system of the biosphere.”
So, it seems, Klein and Rifkin converge: the combination of taking necessary steps to cope with climate change, and this fundamental shift in economics and society, will push capitalism (or rather the making of significant profits by way of “economic growth”) to the margins. It is a turning point in the human journey, says Rifkin.
So?
Where does all of this leave us? What should we do? Are we all complicit? What about those of us who don’t – or can’t - walk our talk? What about those of us (like me) who fly, ski, pontificate….? Maybe Paul’s Biblical insights in Romans offer comfort: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do… For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” Mind you, we regularly enjoy doing what we know we probably shouldn’t do! Often, we hope that it will all just work out in some sort of gradual way, affecting us insignificantly – and that we can therefore continue with what we do. Somehow, it won’t, or doesn’t, affect me….
Wilful blindness? Denial? Hypocrisy? Delusion…? George Marshall’s book, referred to by Monbiot, provides further insights. He applies modern psychology with its understanding of cognitive biases, perception of risk and our deepest instincts to defend family and tribe, to our apparent collective indifference. He likens our “collective social norm of silence” about climate change to our response to that other great taboo, death. He suggests that they have more in common than we care to admit.
Klein observes that “the fetish of centrism”, of reasonableness, splitting the difference and “generally not getting overly excited about anything”, is at the core of the problem. The approach of polite incremental change, hoping to reframe policies while continuing to support economic growth, won’t work. Appeasement is out. It seems that we need to act: to support the Rifkin transition (optimistic as it may seem), and to challenge and expose the vested interests. Otherwise, inertia and loss aversion could prevent any significant mitigation and as a species we will be left frantically trying to adapt to events that begin to overwhelm us and other species on this planet.
What of Scotland?
My business colleague, Charlie Woods, noting Glasgow University’s decision to divest itself of fossil fuel investments, poses the question: “Can a small, well networked, modern country like Scotland, with significant fossil fuel reserves, help lead the way? If we are successfully to mitigate some of the worst impacts of climate change a sustainable solution in all senses must be built on:
“This will help provide the foundations on which engagement can take place and ways forward can be explored. To do this will require that we all confront biases that can confuse our understanding of interests and our decision making processes. It must also look at assessing value in on as broad a basis as possible - although with so many different value systems and discount rates at play this is going to be very challenging. Any way forward is also likely to have to be built on new social norms that help change behaviour, not just financial incentives.”
Monbiot again: “Were the world’s governments to regulate the wellhead rather than just the tailpipe, logistically the task would be a thousand times easier. Instead of trying to change the behaviour of 7 billion people, they would need to control just a few thousand corporations. These companies would buy permits to extract fossil fuels in a global auction. As a global cap on the amount of fossil fuel that could be burnt came into force, the price would rise, making low carbon technologies, such as wind, solar and nuclear, much better investments. The energy corporations would then have no choice but to start getting out of dirt and into clean technologies. The money from the auction could be used either to compensate poorer nations for not following us down the coal hole or to help them survive in a world in which some dangerous warming – but hopefully no more than 2° – will inevitably occur.”
“For 23 years, governments have been wasting precious time by pursuing an unworkable solution….. But, if the climate talks in Paris in December are to have any meaning or purpose, they should abandon the self-defeating policy of addressing only consumption, and concentrate on restricting production. This, I believe should be the focus of our campaigns. We must make this such a potent electoral issue that we drag governments out of the clutches of the fossil fuel industry.”
“You think that’s tough? Well try the alternative: living in a world with 5° of global warming, in other words a world of climate breakdown. By comparison, almost anything looks easy.”
Woods concludes: “It’s a tall order, but the alternative is having to grapple with adapting to events that will begin to overwhelm us and other species in a way which it is difficult to plan for and will ultimately be much more expensive to deal with than preventative action.”
And skiing in the Alps might just not be possible at all…….
A role for the “third side”?
All of this leads me finally to reflect on the role of the “third side”, those without direct, vested, interests in any engagement. William Ury’s classic work of that name points to the role played by third siders in human history from the ancient tribal functions of the village elders to the modern role of mediators and other intermediaries. These need not be only individuals. Often the collective or the community can play a role, society itself as a force for change or reconciliation between apparently conflicting, polarising, world views. The Collaborative Commons. Maybe that is where our energies should be applied, here in Scotland and elsewhere?
Robert Peston, commenting on the Oxfam report, makes the point that, ultimately, it is in our collective interests to address these issues. Mutuality requires a different approach. We are all in this together. Even the wealthiest 1%, unless they are hermetically sealed, are at risk. Third Siders, with no immediate interest in the outcome, are often able to help those with vested interests, who are trapped by their own biases, to see other perspectives and to identify where the real interests lie, even if counter-intuitive. Writing in another age, Bertrand Russell observed that: “The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation”.
In Super Cooperators, Martin Nowak also concludes that there is only one way forward: “The biggest issues of all – saving the planet and maximising the collective lifetime of the species Homo sapiens – ….require novel ways for us to work in harmony. If we are to continue to thrive, we have but one option. We now have to manage the planet as a whole. If we are to win the struggle for existence, and avoid a precipitous fall, there’s no choice but to harness this extraordinary creative force. We now have to refine and to extend our ability to cooperate. We must become familiar with the science of cooperation. Now, more than ever, the world needs Super Cooperators. See Super Cooperators video posted by RSA.)
Naïve? Perhaps, but what is the alternative? Nelson Mandela is a useful guide: “It always seems impossible …. until it is done”.
Blog post by Scotland’s 2020 Climate Group member, John Sturrock, who is also a mediator.
Have you gone without?I know I wont have been the only soul to have been in this position, but just a few weeks ago, as we saw this winters coldest days I experienced my boiler dying its death. Despite having to go without, I wasn’t stuck for other options. For 6 days without heat and hot water, I found myself spending time in warmer places than my flat, reducing its use to somewhere to lay my head.
I find it quite ironic now that I sit to write this, working from home, that I am now not far off hugging the radiator (but perhaps I am still thawing out).
With what I saw as a basic home life compromised, and now with the heating and hot water restored (thanks to Kenny the super star of a plumber) it has made me greatly appreciate what I now see as more than basic comforts but is something that is more of a luxury, especially when I read the following:
“Nearly two billion people- that’s 3 in every 10 people – lack access to reliable and affordable modern energy constraining their health, education and earning potential. Of this group, 60% live entirely without electricity for cooking, lighting and heating at home, for community services such as schools or health centres…” (Shell Foundation, Accelerating Access to Energy: Dec 2014; pg iii).
Despite losing the use of my boiler, I wasn’t constrained by my energy options, I still had electricity to help support my needs, what I experienced was just a little inconvenience to what I knew as normal life. Unlike those lives (those poor, marginalised and dis-empowered) affected by such energy deficiency, who are constrained to not even benefit from the most basic resources in life, can’t even take advantage, never mind take for granted what we take for granted. I am sure nearly every day of our lives!
It remains that those who are paying the greatest costs – for the barriers in and around poverty, human rights and the impact of climate change are in need of support to break these down and energy can play an important part!
I am not sure about you, but this all reinforces the need for Climate Justice and the need for us to help address this.
Even if you have or haven’t gone without energy – I am sure you can agree, it is wrong to think there are others still without something we just need to flick a switch for, or as we control our heating at home from the supermarket frozen food aisle! We couldn’t live without it, why should others?
Are you willing to help support Climate Justice? The 2020 Climate Group campaign – Scotland Lights up Malawi would love your support!!
The UK Aid Match is matching pound for pound until 5th February on public donations. That leaves just two days to have double the impact!
EG:
Text donate: £10 will be £10 + £10 + £2 (GA) = £22
Virgin Giving: £50 will be £50 + £50 + £10 (GA) = £110
To donate:
TEXT to donate for example: SCOT20 £(amount) to 70070
Or
Thank you for your support!
It is greatly appreciated and it will help change lives so they don’t need to go without!
Access requires actionI have been reading an excellent report from the Shell Foundation ‘Accelerating Access to Energy’. The statistics are challenging. Here are a few:
1. Low income households in Africa spend up to 40% of their income on energy.
2. 1.2bn people lack any access to reliable and affordable electricity and for another 800 million the grid is unreliable and unpredictable.
3. Half the children in the developing world go to schools that have no electricity.
The Shell Foundation, through many years of experience have adopted what they call the “enterprise based theory of change”. This has involved identifying and tackling market failures, helping create social enterprises, patient and flexible grant funding and business skills development.
They have now refined this into a six stage process that takes between 5 to 10 years to reach maturity. The first three stages are to catalyse, pilot and create pioneers. The major step is number 4; scale. This involves a mixture of grant money and market revenues. It is this stage that we are getting involved with through Scotland Lights up Malawi. There is good evidence from Kenya and Tanzania that the model of distributing solar lights through schools works well and by about year 3 or 4 of the scaling stage the business can be self funding.
So if you haven’t donated to Scotland Lights up Malawi yet please think about it, access requires action! You can find more details elsewhere on this website but remember any personal donations are doubled until 5 February by UK Aid Match which matches any public donation pound for pound.