Individual and political action on climate change

Individual and political action on climate change can take many forms, most of which attempt to limit or reducing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, with the goal of mitigating climate change.

Political action

Political action can change laws and regulations that relate to climate change, such as tax incentives, greenhouse gas emissions limits or establishing a regulatory framework within which carbon trading markets can operate. Political action can also gain media and public attention to climate change. Political action from the community, however, is often challenged by interests within the fossil-fuel industry.^[1][2]

There are many forms of political action on climate change including letter writing, direct lobbying, and public shaming of politicians and media organizations. Political action campaigns require building a base of support at local level.

Protest movements

The climate movement has emerged in recent years, given there is an increased awareness of the importance of global warming as a factor in a range of issues. Many environmental, economic, and social issues find common ground in mitigation of global warming.^[3][4]

A number of groups from around the world have come together to work on the issue of global warming. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from diverse fields of work have united on this issue. A coalition of 50 NGOs called Stop Climate Chaos launched in Britain (September 2005) to highlight the issue of climate change.

The Campaign against Climate Change was created to focus purely on the issue of climate change and to pressure governments into action by building a protest movement of sufficient magnitude to effect political change.

Critical Mass is an event typically held on the last Friday of every month in various cities around the world wherein bicyclists and, less frequently, unicyclists, skateboarders, inline skaters, roller skaters and other self-propelled commuters take to the streets en masse. While the ride was originally founded in San Francisco with the idea of drawing attention to how unfriendly the city was to bicyclists, the leaderless structure of Critical Mass makes it impossible to assign it any one specific goal. In fact, the purpose of Critical Mass is not formalized beyond the direct action of meeting at a set location and time and traveling as a group through city or town streets.

One of the elements of the Occupy movement is global warming action.

Succeeding environmentalist Bill McKibben's mantra that 'if it's wrong to wreck the climate, it's wrong to profit from that wreckage,' the 'Fossil Free' campaign attempts to get public institutions, such as universities and churches, to stop using fossil fuels. It is a branch project of 350.org, and is involved in an international network of campaigns and campaigners working toward fossil fuel divestment in local communities.

Groups such as NextGen Climate and Climate Hawks Vote are working in the United States to elect officials who will make action on climate change a high priority.

Climate disobedience

Climate disobedience is a form of civil disobedience, deliberate action intended to critique government climate policy. In 2008, American climate activist Tim DeChristopher posed as a bidder at an auction of US Bureau of Land Management oil and gas leases of public land in Utah, won the auction, reneged on payment, and was imprisoned for 21 months. In September, 2015 five climate activists known as the Delta 5 obstructed an oil train in Everett, Washington. At trial, the Delta 5 were allowed the necessity defense, that is, breaking a law in the service of preventing a greater harm. After testimony, the judge determined the grounds for the necessity defense were not met and instructed the jury to disregard testimony admitted under the necessity defense. The Delta 5 were fined for trespassing but were acquitted of more serious charges.^[5][6][7][8]

International political frameworks

Kyoto Protocol

The primary international policy framework currently in existence is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), specifically the Kyoto Protocol, which sets emissions limits for many of the world's most economically developed nations.

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

Under Kyoto, countries with targets can elect to reach these targets in co-operation with other countries. The European Union has decided to work as a unit to meet its emissions targets. The European climate change program attempts to do this by utilising an emissions trading scheme known as the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme. The principle of this scheme is quite simple: to make their legally binding commitments under Kyoto, countries can either make these savings within their own country, or they can buy these emissions reductions from other countries. These other countries would still need to meet their Kyoto targets, but the use of a free market system ensures the reductions are made for the least possible costs. Most reductions are made where these reductions are cheapest, and the excess reductions can be sold on to other countries where such cuts would be less economically viable. The EU ETS is arguably the global template for emissions trading schemes that are being implemented globally (China, South Korea, Tokyo and others).^[9]

Contraction and Convergence

The concept of Cap, Contraction and Convergence, as a replacement to the Kyoto agreement, has been recently gaining ground. The idea here is that the limits to carbon emissions need to be capped at 350-450 parts per million, currently considered to produce a raise in world temperatures above pre-industrial levels of between 1 and 2 degrees Celsius. It is currently believed that further increases would bring about major positive feedbacks (the burning of forests and the loss of carbon from soils and oceans) which currently limit greenhouse gas emissions, and would lead to a run-away global warming similar to the Eocene period, during which there was no ice at the poles.

To sustain this figure, it is proposed that on equity grounds, all people should be allocated an equal carbon footprint (currently about 2 tonnes per person, which by 2050 could fall to 1.5 tonnes per person through population increase). World per capita carbon emissions, currently in excess of 4 tonnes per person needs to contract to those levels, if these targets are to be met.^[10] As a result, in the name of global and inter-generational equity, policies needing to be instituted need to converge, over a fixed period towards this figure for every country. A trading regime, whereby which countries in excess of these figures (from example the US at 20 tonnes per capita), purchase carbon credits from a country using less than its allocation (e.g. Kenya at 1.3 tonnes per capita), is considered by many as the best way of solving this problem.

For example, the Contract and Converge strategy has now been adopted by India, China and many African countries as the basis for future negotiations. The UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution said in 2000 "the UK should be prepared to accept the contraction and convergence principle is the basis for international agreement on greenhouse gas emissions".^[11]

Sub-national level action

Some states, regions, and cities in the world are taking the lead on developing emissions reduction methods in the absence of federal policy, and may provide models for future national efforts. Their efforts are achieving real measurable emissions reductions and by pursuing policies and programs that have climate benefits, they have promoted state economic development, improved air quality and trimmed their vulnerability to energy price spikes. In the long run, addressing climate change will require comprehensive national policy and international agreements. However, in the absence of federal policy, states and regions are taking the lead on developing policies that may provide models for future national efforts.^[12]

Ghent, Belgium

The city promotes a meat-free day on Thursdays called Veggiedag,^[13][14] with vegetarian-only food in public canteens for civil servants and elected councillors, soon in all schools, and promotion of vegetarian eating options in town (through the distribution of "veggie street maps"). This campaign is linked to the recognition of the detrimental environmental effects of meat production, which the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization has established to represent nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions.

United Kingdom

The town of Totnes in Devon through its "Transition Town Totnes" Project has adopted an Energy Descent Plan, as a response in answer to the twin problems of greenhouse gas emissions and peak oil. As a result of a series of large, well attended public gatherings with key experts from around the world, and the organisation of a number of special interest groups, the community has come together with lecturers and trainers shared with Schumacher College, through a process of participative strategic planning, to hone their skills in project development. As a result of the initiatives in Totnes, a large number of other communities have started "Transition Town" projects, and there are now more than 400 around the world,^[15] ranging from small communities to whole cities (e.g. Berlin).

The concepts of including food miles or carbon neutral labels on packaging has been gaining interest in the UK.^[16]

Individual action

Carbon Conversations

The programme Carbon Conversations focuses on the agency of individuals to encourage personal action to reduce carbon emissions. The programme touches on four main topics: i) home energy; ii) food; iii) travel; and iv) consumption and waste. The programme understands that individuals often fail to adopt low-carbon lifestyles not because of practical barriers to change (e.g.: there is no renewable energy available), but because of aspects related to their values, emotions, and identity. The programme offers a supportive group experience that helps people reduce their personal carbon dioxide emissions by 1 tonne CO2 on average and aim at halving it in the long term. They deal with the difficulties of change by connecting to values, emotions and identity. The groups are based on a psychological understanding of how people change. Groups of 6-8 members meet six times with trained facilitators in homes, community centres, workplaces or other venues. The 6 meetings create a non-judgmental atmosphere where people are encouraged to make serious lifestyle changes.

Carbon Conversations was cited in The Guardian newspaper as one of the 20 best ideas to tackle climate change.^[17]

See also

References

External links

• Air travel, climate change, and green consumerism at Appropedia
• Is coercion necessary for mitigating climate change?
• Anderson, K. Multi-media of a July 2011 presentation. Climate Change: Going beyond dangerous -- Brutal numbers, tenuous hope, or cognitive dissonance? The presentation concludes with a perspective on personal choices and collective effect on climate change. See also: Kevin Anderson (scientist).
• Your Environmental Road Trip film ASIN: B0098N559G

Further reading

Regarding Climate change policy of the United States, see "The Climate War" (2010) by Eric Pooley deputy editor of Bloomberg Businessweek ISBN 978-1-4013-2326-4