Onward Bulletin 17/08/21
The latest research, events and news straight to your inbox every Tuesday.
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IN THE NEWS
Our 2019 General Election study, No Turning Back, was cited in Prospect magazine last week.
The findings of our recent report, Age of Alienation, were referenced in GraziaDaily commenting on the collapse in community that has accompanied the rise of social media use among young people.
Last Wednesday, our Net Zero lead Ted Christie-Miller spoke to Channel 4 News to discuss the costs of net zero and the potential opportunities of a newly decarbonised economy. Link.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Ahead of Parliament returning in September, we are thrilled to host Chris Stark, Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee, for a speech and accompanying Q&A on the transition to net zero. Register here.
Later next month, we are delighted to be hosting Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Dr Rhian-Mari Thomas OBE, Chief Executive of Green Finance Institute and Hubert Keller, Co-Senior Partner of Lombard Odier Group to discuss ‘Private Capital for Public Good: How to harness institutional finance for global and domestic decarbonisation’. Register here to join.
Last week saw the ringing of the loudest climate alarm bells yet, with the publication of the first stage of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report, described as “code red for humanity”, lays out in unequivocal terms how human activity is causing rapid, widespread changes to the climate and is resulting in disruption across the world.
The scientific consensus around the need to reach net zero has never been stronger, and with COP26 just around the corner it is vital that the UK continues to display climate leadership and make progress towards our own legally-binding agreement to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Focus is rightly on the need for bold and decisive policy. But constructing the right discourse around climate change and net zero will be an important part of the process – without it, the target is in jeopardy.
Presently, there is limited public understanding of what net zero even is - let alone how it will impact their lives - as recent focus groups carried out by Onward discovered. In addition, few respondents made the link between climate change and the recent wildfires in Greece and Turkey or the floods in Germany.
Many people think that they can combat climate change through simple actions such as recycling more and buying local.
Despite their best intentions, these actions consistently rank lowest in impact, and may have unintended consequences: one academic study showed that lettuces grown locally in winter were three to eight times more carbon intensive than those imported from Spain. Similarly, the Danish Environment Agency found that cotton tote bags need to be reused more than fifty times before they become more environmentally friendly than single-use plastic bags.
Furthermore, many consumers are drawn to electricity tariffs marketed by energy suppliers as “green” or “100% renewable”. However, many of these actually provide energy supplied by fossil fuel sources, and simply purchase a certificate of renewable energy generation, often from overseas power stations. The Government yesterday announced a BEIS review into the transparency of such tariffs, aimed at correcting this - an important step towards ensuring consumers are better able to pick bad from good.
If we are serious about getting to net zero, we need to change our perceptions of what “going green” entails to instead focus on combating our largest sources of emissions: how we heat and power our homes, and the ways in which we get around. And, as part of this, we need transparency to ensure consumers can be confident their “green” choices are having the impact they believe they are.
Policy Bites
The Government has announced a new programme to help launch and grow businesses and start-ups in the cyber security sector. Link.
Drones and 3D technology are set to be used to minimise potholes and reduce traffic congestion across the country. Link.
A review will be conducted by the Government of how energy retailers market ‘green’ electricity tariffs to consumers to avoid exaggeration. Link.
Quick Links
The Conservative case for net zero. Amber Rudd writes in The Telegraph that achieving net zero is a fundamentally conservative notion, that is replete with opportunities as much as costs. Link.
Children in care. Anne Longfield argues in the Guardian that levelling up cannot proceed without considering our children in social care. Link.
Can’t afford not to. James Kirkup argues the cost of net zero is little compared to the cost of doing nothing. Link.
A long term plan. Robert Halfon MP writes that the Government needs to act resolutely to stop Covid creating a new wave of educational poverty. Link.
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