I’d rather die in a freezer than an oven

The hottest temperatures today will be the coldest temperatures in the not-too-distant future.

The only way to stop the warming is to make our emissions zero. It’s not enough to reduce them. They have to be zero or the warming will continue.

Even if we were to reach zero emissions tomorrow, the earth will continue to warm for another decade or so due to past emissions as the climate takes a little while to catch up.

I wonder if more people are starting to pay attention to this problem as new temperature records tumble so frequently and fires take hold across the world. I feel somewhat cynical perhaps because I see all the complaints from people about the low emission zones that are being introduced across the country. If they are happy to poison their children with dirty air then why would they care about dumping climate change on them? Most people care only about themselves. They don’t care about the future their children and grandchildren will face.

On the odd chance that anyone is interested and cares and wants to make an effort then here are my top five tips of things you can do that won’t cost you any money. But I suspect those who care are already doing these things and unfortunately this is a tragedy of the commons.

1. Eat more plants – reduce meat intake and save money at the same time.
2. Buy second-hand rather than new.
3. Replace trips by car with trips by bike or on foot.
4. Take local holidays.
5. Write to your MP and ask them to take meaningful action.

Here’s a talk I gave last year with my top five tips.