🌱 The Grumpy Optimists #34
COP26 has begun, but is the UK all talk and no action?
Happy Monday all and welcome to another week! 👋
Today is the beginning of COP26 and with it comes anticipation, hope and promise. The event is not without its challenges as the city's public services are on strike, leaders from around the world refuse to attend and India rejects a net zero emission target. We've listed some resources to keep up to date with COP26 as the events unfold. Of course, we’ll keep you updated next week as the events unfold.
COP26 Resources
This week we look at whether the UK is all talk and no action as taxes are cut on domestic flights and sewage spills into our waterways. We also leave more optimistically with reasons to be hopeful and a fantastic series by Jack Harries and YouTube.
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👀 Articles to read
🤯 Sunak cuts tax on domestic flights. Just days before COP26 and the UK has been criticised for talking hot air when it comes to climate action. Sunak failed to mention climate change once while delivering his budget, begging the question, will the UK host nation deliver a climate deal?
🇺🇸 Biden's climate bill could be blocked. Biden's climate bill is extremely close to being passed, putting the President in a great position before he heads to COP26. But, Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are trying to block the bill. Manchin, who made his fortune through the coal industry is still heavily funded by the fossil fuel industry.
💩 Sewage pollution in UK waterways. This week the House of Lords tried to strengthen the Environmental Bill to prevent more raw sewage finding its way to UK waterways. The vote was rejected by conservative MPs before a u-turn.
💭 Why does the UK have a problem with sewage? After being part of a water and waste project for Oxfordshire County Council, George found there are two key issues. Problem one, the UK has a Victorian sewer system. As a result there is a capacity issue, particularly when it rains. The drains are unable to handle the additional rainwater and simply use overflow pipes to pump sewage into our waterways. Secondly, there is a lack of funding from water companies to upgrade dated infrastructure. This is not just due to the water companies, but equally from Ofwat and their interest in keeping household water bills down.
😀 Reasons to be hopeful: the climate solutions available now. From transport to manufacturing to deforestation this article has a great rundown of the climate solutions out there at the moment and what to look out for in the future. It's great to see some more optimism around.
🌎 How things have changed since COP1 and why this gives us hope. Switch back to Berlin for the very first COP in 1995 and climate change was still a sideline issue on the peripheries of global politics. As the world's eyes fall upon Glasgow for the 26th edition of the meeting, it's important to remember how far we've come in this time, and why there's still hope for us in the climate crisis.
📺 Could TV push us to care more about climate change? Leading broadcaster Sky claim that writing more climate change themed plots into TV dramas could influence us to care more about environmental issues, and ultimately change public perception and behaviour. Featuring electric vehicles, having vegetarian food more prominent and openly discussing the climate could help nudge the public to adopt similar actions. What do you think?
Things we're loving this week
🎨 Young artists across the UK get creative for COP26. A series of murals have popped up across the UK this week to highlight issues around climate change and biodiversity loss. The seven mural designs were all winning entries to the Grantham Institute's Climate Art Prize and will be on display at COP26 in Glasgow. A great platform for young artists to use the power of art as a vehicle for positive change.
👪 How should we talk to children about climate change? Explaining such a complex and difficult issue to adults is often hard enough, let alone children. Author Leslie Davenport explains how best to approach the subject in a way which young children can understand, but that doesn't understate or ignore the scale of the issue.
📽️ How the climate crisis affects us all - Jack Harries.
Grab a brew or your lunch and spend 20 minutes watching this gem of a video.
Have a great week!
The Grumpy Optimists.
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