Essay by Eric Worrall
British Academics have blamed the Government’s failure to restrict meat, cheap flights, fashionable clothes and consumer electronics for our failure to tackle the climate crisis.
To address climate change, lifestyles must change – but the government’s reluctance to help is holding us back
Published: October 14, 2022 3.43am AEDT
Christina Demski Reader in Environmental Psychology, University of Bath
Stuart Capstick Senior Research Fellow in Psychology, Cardiff UniversityWithout changes to people’s behaviour and lifestyles, it will be impossible for the UK to reach net zero emissions by 2050. But the government is failing to put in place the conditions that would enable this to happen – or even recognise its relevance in cutting emissions and meeting climate targets. Its laissez-faire approach of simply “going with the grain of consumer choice”, according to a recent report, has no chance of bringing about the urgent changes needed.
A House of Lords inquiry assessed the role of public behaviour in meeting climate and environmental goals. The report drew on evidence from leading experts on behavioural science and social change, as well as submissions from a wide range of organisations, including Tesco, Natural England and Cycling UK.
Among the criticisms levelled at the government were accusations that it places too much faith in unproven technologies to fix the climate, and is reluctant to communicate to the public the scale of social change needed to create a low-carbon society. The varying remits of different government departments charged with helping the public change their polluting behaviour were characterised as a “muddle” and “inadequate” to the task. In some instances, government actions have pushed people away from low-carbon choices, like offering a tax cut for domestic flights just before 2021’s UN climate summit in Glasgow.
Perhaps most uncomfortable for a government that has elevated economic growth as its foremost priority, the report stresses the need for absolute reductions in many of the commonplace activities that are driving the climate crisis. This includes people buying less of the things with sizeable environmental impacts, like long-haul flights, beef and products that use a lot of resources, such as fast-fashion clothing and electronics.
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It is for this reason that the House of Lords report urges the government to use taxes, regulations and infrastructure to level the playing field in favour of greener lifestyles, …
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Simply waiting for people to make low-carbon choices in a world that doesn’t support those choices, and where people feel no stake in the changes taking place, is unfair and irresponsible.
Read more: https://theconversation.com/to-address-climate-change-lifestyles-must-change-but-the-governments-reluctance-to-help-is-holding-us-back-190300
British academics could lead by example, by boycotting the long haul flight to COP27, in Egypt’s infamously hedonistic resort town of Sharm El Sheikh.
But somehow the would be leaders of our socialist green utopia always seem to find a reason why they must, however reluctantly, continue to enjoy the privileges which they demand be denied to ordinary folk.
Make no mistake, these people are serious. A climate lockdown society in which politicians and academics get to dictate your choices appears to be their genuine end goal. In places like Britain, they are perilously close to getting their way.
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“(government)….is reluctant to communicate to the public the scale of social change needed to create a low-carbon society.”
Must be difficult for politicians to stand before their citizens and sell the “Great Reset” knowing it is the transition to a future of hunger, poverty and misery.
Not only all that.
They have to keep a straight face.
Another challenge.
This is the same profession (psychologist, psychiatrist) that have tried to drug our children into oblivion with everything from ADHD drugs to anti anxiety meds) . They tried to get us to put my daughter on some of this crap in the first grade( was nothing wrong with her except a speech empediment , she was born at 7 months) I told them :no way in hell! I told them It is a statistical impossibility for this many kids out of a population to have ADHD or any other affliction at that rate. Worse yet they continued to push it, I never gave in.
She turned out great – high GPA thru all her school years ,now works as a well paid travel Nursing tech.
The vast majority of her class mates that were put on those meds ended up with all kinds of drug and alcohol and psychological problems. Mist of them are completely unproductive members of society now.
Yup, the school tried to push adhd drugs on my kid in Grade One too, “to help him focus”. I also refused.
The eerie thing is now some 25-30 years later, kids are no longer being diagnosed with adhd! Now autism is the diagnosis du jour. Scads of kids drugged up with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Not a word about the statistical unlikelihood of adhd disappearing like that and this autism suddenly taking its place. I can only surmise autism drugs make more money for the drug companies?
“to help him focus” Its called “being a boy.” They want to turn all the boys into compliant girls.
Tried doing that with my daughter, too, after a friggin’ TWENTY minute interview.
Nope, no way. I also took a few seconds to acquaint the psychiatrist that I didn’t (and don’t) believe in lawyers to deal with people that harm my family.
Always the iron fist and jack boots
I think not. These nut jobs are not listened to save for a small minority, the majority of the population have more sense than to listen to these wacko’s.
Depriving my fellow Brits of their McD’s, KFC, Greggs, cheap throw away clothes and holidays in the sun will see a response akin to the Poll Tax riots.
Get cracking with the fracking and give the yogurt knitters something to really get worked up about.
I blame the government for failing to curtail academic activities that are devoid of scientific rigor. Now that’s a real problem.
These “scientists” are the ones that will tell us to believe in “The Science” as generated by a computer program but then tell us chromosomes have little to do with gender.
”level the playing field in favour of greener lifestyles”
Silly me – I always thought the point of a level playing field was to be level and NOT favour anything.
We all saw this coming. Electric supply must equal demand second by second. Wind & solar are incapable of doing this. Normally that would be a dealbreaker, but somehow the greens never worried that. Now they admit their plan was to fit our demand to their supply.
Oh this is rich, I’m being ostracized for not paying more attention to psychologists and the House of Lords. There is no need to reach or attempt to reach net zero. Net zero is a fiction, it is an imaginary solution for a non problem. These people make me sick.
What are historians going to write about 1900-2100? From my perspective it is the heyday of government gaslighting. From the new liberals and progressives right through to today’s UN, WEF, WHO and on and on, the public is being lied to on what seems like a level no one could believe to be possible. And it seems to have no end in sight except collapse.
You can ignore reality. But you can’t ignore the effects of ignoring reality.
Hence the need to force compliance. Just like your mommy and daddy did. You’re grounded, now go to your room.
Yep, politicians are going to get reelected by telling you to lower your lifestyle by passing laws and issuing regulations. Propaganda can only go so far; cynicism became the hallmark of the old Soviet Union.
As soon as people hear that academics are involved in the climate debate, they should get their guards up. All these brain trusts are concerned about is more funding for more deadend environmental research., scams.
In France univ might close during the coldest days of winter to reduce heating bills.
Also some experiments are going to stop. I don’t have much details.
“Comrades!” he cried. “You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege? Many of us actually dislike milk and apples. Milk and apples (this has been proved by Science, comrades) contain substances absolutely necessary to the well-being of a pig. We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organization of this farm depend on us. Day and night we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples.”
Two British Academics have blamed the Government’…
Fixed.
“To address climate change, lifestyles must change”
Especially that most liberating of modern conveniences: Readily available stable electricity.
“It is for this reason that the House of Lords report urges the government to use taxes, regulations and infrastructure to level the playing field in favour of greener lifestyles,”
How many of the “peers of the realm” would be bothered by higher taxes and more regulations? Oh, it’s great to be rich, rich, rich. Regulations? Fah! We peers have lots of friends in the government who can make sure we don’t have to follow all the rules imposed on the peons.