There are many different incentives to try and get people and businesses to become more ‘green’, and in particular to reduce their carbon emissions. Do they work? Are carbon emissions dropping? And if they are, by enough to hit some of the targets that are thought to be necessary for the future safeguarding of resources and the environment? Whilst an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 might seem hugely ambitious, is it essential for the future longevity of our world as we know it?
As I have been exploring some of the issues around carbon reduction, it is clear that there are a great many initiatives aimed at individuals to get them to reduce carbon dependencies here and there. Some seem simple – creating better insulated houses, reducing the amount of energy required to heat and cool them, boiling only enough water as is needed, walking not driving, changing to low energy light-bulbs, putting on a jumper instead of turning up the heating. All require some level of behaviour change – starting to think about how you live and making adjustments accordingly. Many make good economic sense.
This saving of money is sometimes a double edged sword when it comes to the environment. People often see a saving in one area as a good reason to spend money elsewhere. So a saving in energy bills as a result of a better insulated home and more journeys cycled instead of driven may be rewarded by a weekend trip flying to Barcelona, or other rebound behaviours, such as becoming more acclimatised to a warmer home, so notching up the thermostat a degree or two as it becomes slightly colder outside.
So as we set the second Dishaa group the challenge of accelerating and multiplying the many small and innovative things that are happening locally in the UK and India, perhaps the biggest part of the challenge is not around technologies, or initiatives, or rewards, but about changing the way people view their quality of life? Rather than relying on technologies, is the answer in behaviour change? To really tackle climate change do we need to move away from having new things, holidays and disposable consumables as a measures of success? Do we need to find a new way of living, aspiring to a lifestyle that really won’t cost the earth?
This post is written by Amy Ritman, Senior Course Director at Common Purpose. Amy currently works on Ventures.
Common Purpose Ventures connect future leaders, across the world, to tackle challenges which are common and compelling, and big (enough to be worth the effort) and small (enough to be grasped).
Ventures encourage participants to work in new directions to develop innovative approaches to new (and old) problems, which is why the names of all our Ventures mean “direction” in different languages. Participants will present their findings to many different audiences over the year following the Venture.
