Whilst campaigning for your school or college to Go Green you might come up against some tricky questions so to help you we have come up with some answers to the most common. If you come across any others please get in contact with us and we will help you to answer them.
Q) Climate change isn’t happening and even if it is this is a natural process isn’t it?
A) There is no disagreement that climate change is happening — measurements clearly show that global temperatures are increasing. Climate scientists from around the world have concluded that the best explanation for this rise in temperature is human activity.
While both carbon dioxide and temperature levels do change naturally over time (it’s much warmer now than it was during the ice ages!), the increase in both since the industrial revolution in the mid-nineteenth century is far greater and has happened far faster than has ever happened without human influence.
One really good argument to use when talking to people who are sceptical about climate change (apart from pointing out that the vast majority of the world’s scientists agree that it is happening), is to talk about the risks involved in taking or not taking action. If action is not taken to reduce emissions, we risk ‘runaway’ climate change, which means that temperatures could increase by as much as 6 degrees, completely devastating life on earth. However, if action is taken, even if the science is wrong, all we risk is ending up with more efficient energy systems, more renewable energy and more careful use of natural resources. Which would you choose?
Q) What difference can we make when China is opening a new coal power station everyday?
A) In the UK we are currently emitting around 9 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person while China emits 4 tonnes per person. While China’s emissions are growing now, the UK’s emissions have historically been higher, and it is the emissions from the UK and other industrial countries over the last 150 years, that have caused the current problem. Today, a lot of the emissions from China come from factories making products that we buy. If you own anything that says ‘Made in China’ on the label, just think about all the carbon that’s gone into producing it!
That means that we have a moral responsibility to act, reducing our emissions to a fair level, rather than claiming that millions of people in China, and other countries, should go without electricity. If the UK leads by example and acts to cut its own emissions, this will give the UK a stronger voice at international climate talks to get an agreement for all countries.
Q) How does Go Green fit with other environmental schemes?
A) You may find that your school or college is already taking action to improve its impact on the environment and cut emissions. For example, many schools are part of the Eco-schools programme. Go Green is different because it focuses on climate change and carbon emissions, rather than wider environmental issues. At People & Planet we believe that climate change is currently the biggest environmental issue, and that there is an urgent need to cut carbon emissions.
However, Go Green can fit with existing environmental schemes. If your college or school has an environmental committee, or if there’s a member of staff working on sustainability in the curriculum, or if it’s part of Eco-schools, you should try to link your Go Green campaign with whatever is already going on.
For example, if your school or college has an environment committee you could try to get them to adopt carbon reduction as an aim, and play the role of a climate action group. Alternatively, the climate action group might be a different group that reports to the environment committee. If your college or school already has a sustainability policy, you could work to get it to include carbon reduction commitments and targets.
Basically, if your college or school is already working on the environment, that means that you’ve got a great starting point to Go Green and get real cuts in emissions happening quickly.
Q) Won’t all this cost the school/college money — we just can’t afford to Go Green!
A) Some measures to reduce emissions cost nothing — like switching off lights and equipment, and others are very low in cost. Reducing energy use should not only cut emissions, but also actually save the college or school money, particularly important with current high energy prices.
For bigger projects there are some sources of finance available to help colleges and schools improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The government’s Low Carbon Buildings Programme can provide up to half of the funding for microgeneration technologies, the Carbon Trust and Energy Saving Trust both offer carbon reduction advice and there are a number of other schemes which provide financial or technical support.
Check out the regularly up-dated list of links to such programmes.