20 September 2019. A day to remember. A global climate strike, involving millions of people around the world, led by schoolchildren.
In New York, over 1 million children from 1800 schools were allowed to skip school in order to protest. In Britain, a meaner attitude emanated from the authorities: “Every child should be in school,” declared our Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, “they shouldn’t be bunking off and it’s very irresponsible for people to encourage children to do so.”
What is very irresponsible is to emit a lot of greenhouse gases. If the UK Government had a good track record of progress in responding to climate breakdown, it would be easier to sympathize with Mr Williamson. But according to our Committee on Climate Change, Government has over the last year delivered only 1 out of 25 critical policies necessary to get emissions reductions back on track.
With pressure from people like Mr Williamson, all the more respect is due to those headteachers who allowed their schools to take part in the action.
Political distraction
And yet, it is all too easy for demonstrations to be politicised; and for peaceful protest to be hijacked by revolutionary zeal and a different agenda. One of the rallying cries in the strikes has been “down with the rich and powerful”. Certainly inequality is disturbing for all sorts of reasons, but if we simply re-distribute wealth without changing average consumption patterns, the impact we have on total carbon emissions is … zero. Some progress will be made if billionaires curb their luxuries, and the aggregate of emissions from everyone else does not rise to compensate, but not enough. Most of us need to change the way we live: it’s at least as important to focus on that sobering fact, as it is to decry the richest 1%.
Power progress
On the same day, the Government announced the results of its third Contracts for Difference auction round for supporting renewable electricity generation. Around 6 GW of wind power capacity – which, when it is operational, might generate 8-9% of our electricity – has been successful in gaining contracts at record low prices: less than half the price per unit of energy of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station unwisely agreed by the previous administration.
The decarbonisation of the British electricity generation sector continues at an impressive rate. It means that a common perception of what actually produces carbon emissions in this country is outdated. The image of a power station cooling tower belching steam – never appropriate in the first place as it’s the chimney belching exhaust gases that matters – is increasingly wide of the mark. The power sector now accounts for less than 100 MtCO2 per annum, out of a national total (based on our consumption rather than our production) of over 800 MtCO2. In this country, very roughly, transport contributes about 200 MtCO2, food around 150 MtCO2, gas heating 100 MtCO2, and imports 300 MtCO2. The latter bit is generally ignored (i.e. attributed to other countries, principally China).
And what target are we aiming for as a country? Under 200 MtCO2 in total, as far as I am aware, based on an average per capita global sustainable level of greenhouse gas emissions. The Government’s ‘net zero’ target is actually 300 MtCO2 by my arithmetic, but even that will require changes that are much larger and more socially disruptive than changing the fuel mix underpinning our current electricity demand. While it’s great that we are decarbonising power, we really need to get out of our cars, buy less stuff, change or reduce our heating, alter our diet, and fly less. And sadly that means (nearly) all of us.