Green EU
We believe in the 'Green EU' where development and progress don't create pollution and inflict harm to nature and the human population.
The UN climate conference - COP26, saw some of the world’s most powerful political figures meet to try to tackle climate change, and work towards the target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century. Such goals require significant input from those in power, but there are also smaller things we can do to help in an everyday way. Older people will have to make sacrifices in the fight against climate change or today’s children will face a future of fighting wars for water and food.
If social and climate policy are not combined, to share fairly the costs and benefits of creating a low-carbon economy, the world will face a backlash from people who fear losing jobs or income, stoked by populist politicians and fossil fuel interests. Tackling climate change will be many times cheaper than the disruption that global warming will cause. It will bring benefits to health including relief to the cost of national health services. However, the shift away from fossil fuels will mean the end of some traditional jobs such as coal mining, and the costs of change will fall unequally on different sectors of society unless politicians step in.
There is a huge risk of creating an alliance between those who don’t want change because it affects their interests, whether it’s in fossil fuels or in traditional economic circles. We wonder whether some are aware of the transformation we’re heading to, and how profound it is. It’s an effort comparable to restructuring after a violent conflict. Changing people’s lives today will be difficult, but the benefits will be felt by today’s children and further generations. Human rights include an access to clean air and water. For that assistance from rich to poor countries to help them cut emissions and cope with the impacts of climate breakdown, is required.
We’re not asking people to go back to 1930s situations, we’re not asking people to live in caves and munch grass. It’s taking perhaps one or two steps back to be able to jump much further in to the future. With the coronavirus for older generations everything had changed so fast, but in fact that fast pace ended years ago. There is no normal for us to return to; the normality of economic growth is an illusion. We should support 'Made in EU' as we can be sure the products are of the highest quality and are as safe as possible. This also benefits the environment as it saves carbon emissions produced during transportation, storage, packaging, inspections and it indirectly creates local jobs.
The governments have rediscovered their capacity for action. Economies can be put on hold to slow down the pandemic. At the same time people are discovering the importance of community. As it has been snatched away, we have come to realise how fundamental human contact and social interactions are to our well-being and happiness. We should use these hard-won lessons when we recover from the coronavirus crisis to build a new normal. A new way of living that is both focused on what makes humans happy and which can be sustained by the Earth’s system.
Quote
What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.
--Oscar Wilde