Doomism or optimism?
23 January 2023
It can’t be very often that a senior civil servant quotes one of the Sex Pistols, but that’s what Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the Environment Agency, did in a very positive speech delivered recently to students at the University of East Anglia, which has conducted climate research for many years.
In citing reasons for optimism about the journey to Net Zero rather than pessimism – which he termed doomism – Sir James noted that many people’s fear of climate change led to them experiencing ‘eco-anxiety’ or anger. Hence his reference to John Lydon’s (aka Johnny Rotten) lyric that anger is an energy (quoted from the Public Image Ltd song ‘Rise’). And hopefully such energy could be channelled towards positive actions.
“Fear exists for good reason,” he said “We are already seeing the consequences of climate change: more extreme weather, rising sea levels, higher rainfall, bigger floods, extreme droughts, massive wildfires, ecological harm wiping out species, and rising impacts on the economy, the way we live, and the health and well-being of every human on this planet.”
Sir James continued, “But fear tends to exhaust us rather than energise. And what we sometimes hear from sections of the media, influencers, some well-intentioned campaigners and politicians is all focused on The Fear. The Fear that we’re running out of time. The Fear that what we’re doing is never going to be enough. The ultimate Fear, that humanity is doomed.
“In my view this climate doomism is almost as dangerous as climate denial. Indeed doomism might even be the new denial. And it’s equally misplaced. It’s not justified by the facts. And it risks leading to the wrong outcome: inaction.
“My case for climate optimism is simple: we know what the problem is; we know what we have to do to solve it; we have started to do it; and if we keep on doing it we will succeed – not just in ending the climate emergency but in building a better world too.”
One reason for positive thinking, said Sir James, is that the solutions are technically quite simple: reducing and as far as possible stopping entirely the emissions of carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases that are causing the climate to change (mitigation), and adapting our infrastructure, economies and lifestyles.
He said that significant change was already happening. “In 1991 only 2 per cent of the UK’s electricity came from renewable sources: wind, solar, hydro and bioenergy. By last year (2022), nearly half (43 per cent) of our electricity came from those sources. And if you include nuclear energy, which accounts for a further 16 per cent of our electricity, the majority of our power is now coming from low or no carbon sources.”
Sir James pointed out that science and innovation are also helping – something which we are obviously seeing in the products being developed for use in hire, construction and other industries. Last month US scientists announced a breakthrough in the race to create nuclear fusion, which is a potential source of near-limitless clean energy. For the first time in an experiment they produced more energy from a fusion reaction than they put in to generate it.
To be viable, he said, this technology needs massive scaling up: the experiment in question lasted nanoseconds and produced just about enough energy to boil seven kettles. However, it has fired imaginations and the UK government has announced that the West Burton power station site in Nottinghamshire will be the home of the UK’s first prototype fusion energy plant.
The Environment Agency itself has committed to making its own operations and the whole of its supply chain Net Zero by 2030, focusing on measures such as using hydrogen vehicles, low carbon concrete or planting trees to create flood defences.
Sir James said that “if we tackle the climate emergency right, and treat it not just as an existential risk but as a massive opportunity, we can actually build a better world,” in which “we invent new technologies that don’t just help mitigate and adapt but also help nature recover from the battering we’ve given it over the last few decades and thrive; in which we find new ways to run successful economies so there is sustainable, inclusive growth for everyone; and in which by ending the impacts of climate change on the weakest and helping them recover from things which they did not cause, we help deliver justice for all.”
He also said that there needs to be action by business, “both because businesses are a large source of the problem and because they are a key ingredient of the solution.” Those organisations which innovate, get out of carbon and don’t trash the planet “will ultimately have stronger futures and better profits than those that don’t.”
So rather than focusing on fear and anxiety, we should concentrate on optimism and innovation. And that’s a large part of what hirers, suppliers and indeed this blog, are all about.
