What if climate change is a hoax and we create a better world for nothing?

It seems as if everybody’s a global warming sceptic these days – either we don’t believe, we don’t care, or maybe we’ve  been terrified into some kind of doomsday coma.

We have no time these days for bankers and politicians, so have we lost faith in the scientists too? Is it possible that the UEA ‘Climategate’ scientists have not just betrayed us but their whole profession? Indeed, one leading Global Warming sceptic Christopher Monckton has even declared; ‘The science is in, the truth is out, and the scare is over’.

I sincerely hope that he is right, but I’m also concerned that we expect far too much from science – it’s so easy to manipulate and often impossible to distinguish good science from bad, so it’s incredibly easy to create doubt, uncertainty, and confusion.

The irrefutable fact is that science is not, and never will be anything resembling a belief system – there will always be doubt and uncertainty, so all we can do is look objectively at the weight of the best available evidence, take a view and act accordingly. It is right and proper however that credible, independent scientists continue to constantly re-examine and question scientific projections, and that any new evidence is rigorous, readily available and accessible.

However, when it comes to environmental issues that have the scope to affect the lives of millions of our fellow species and the viability of future generations, we surely have no option but to adopt the ‘Precautionary Principle’- ‘If an action or policy has any possible risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action’. (Wikipedia)

Whichever side of the Man-Made Global Warming (MMGW) debate we may take, we do know that sadly, market-driven consumerism does not satisfy all of life’s desires. There is absolutely no doubt that if we continue to base our economy on unlimited growth, and measure progress by the speed at which we consume finite natural resources, we will certainly make our planet inhospitable. The unsustainable increase in the consumption of material and energy in our economies due to consumer demand and economic growth, contribute not only to climate change but species extinctions, loss of biodiversity, depletion of freshwater and other natural resources, ocean dead zones, topsoil degradation, desertification, deforestation, dying coral reefs and the decimation of ocean fish stocks. As much as 50% of all the Earth’s land and oceans may need to be protected from harm or development if we are to hand over a viable planet to successive generations.

‘We will lurch from crisis to existential crisis unless we address the underlying cause: Perpetual growth cannot be accommodated on a finite planet.’ (George Monbiot)

I accept that there is an unprecedented consensus of thousands of scientists and academic institutions supporting Man-made Global Warming, who just can’t be casually dismissed, but I also accept that the science is not perfect and will probably continue to blow hot and cold for some time. I fully respect the opinions of those who have genuine concerns about some of the climate science, but wholehearted MMGW denial makes sense only as part of an organised global conspiracy theory.

I firmly believe that we have absolutely no choice but to adopt the precautionary principle and push ahead quickly with sustainable mitigation and adaptation policies that support the poorest people in the world because they are already suffering from the effects of climate change, and have done little to cause it.

Controversial? Absolutely not – these are ‘No Regrets’ policies because reductions in greenhouse gases can be justified on many other grounds.  Costly? The Stern Review said: ‘With good policies the costs of action need not be prohibitive and would be much smaller than the damage averted. Managing that transition effectively and efficiently poses ethical and economic challenges, but also opportunities’.

However, we must recognise that a sustainable future is not just about changing the climate, it’s about changing the system because business as usual has clearly failed us.

As the Economist Kenneth Boulding said ‘Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist’.

Climate Change is a difficult, depressing subject, and the pace of attitude and behaviour change has not been helped by negative ‘Doomsday’ scenarios portrayed  by some government and environmental NGO campaigns. The government’s terrifying ‘Act on CO2 Bedtime Story’ TV advertisement is counter-productive and a classic example of how NOT to do it – is it any wonder that so many people are now beginning to deny the possibility of such an apocalyptic view of the future and carry on regardless?

We must engage in a new kind of environmentalism that demonstrates and communicates constructive and positive visions of a sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just society. Environment groups should be far more empowering and pro-active and show people the do’s rather than the dont’s, because if these dinosaurs don’t change, their credibility and support will melt away just like the snow in today’s thaw. There will always be those who accuse us of conspiring to create a communist world government, but none of this is about the left or right of the political spectrum – it’s simply a moral issue about rights and wrongs, and as a father and grandfather deeply concerned about the future of all life on Earth, I have no choice but to try to do the right thing.

I do hope that you’ll join me.

‘The meeting at Copenhagen confronts us with our primal tragedy. We are the universal ape, equipped with the ingenuity and aggression to bring down prey much larger than itself, break into new lands, roar its defiance of natural constraints. Now we find ourselves hedged in by the consequences of our nature, living meekly on this crowded planet for fear of provoking or damaging others. We have the hearts of lions and live the lives of clerks’.(George Monbiot)

Advertisement