John's Weird World

The day started with a briefing meeting in the cheap Youth Hostel-like hotel that Oxfam had put me up in (glad they're not spending their money on posh hotels, eh?) followed by a walk to the DEFRA offices to meet Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for the Environment.

Creative responses

The three CRAG members (with the Oxfam team and Hilary Benn's team in attendance) had 45 minutes with him, the first half of which he listened to how we managed to have such small carbon footprints, why we did it and what we thought was important for individuals to do. Then there was more of a conversation about Government policy and ways in which the country's footprint could be reduced. I was able to bring up the idea that instead of local authorities being asked to work towards a target recycling rate, they instead are asked to concentrate on 'residual waste' ie the amount sent to landfill, which would allow them to be more creative in how they reduced this figure.

We asked him if he'd calculated his carbon footprint... and he said it was 6.6 tonnes, however this must have been his personal household figure, not inclusive of his work which has many tens of tonnes-worth of flights and other travel. (And of course, this is only the 'easily measurable' half of people's carbon footprint, the rest made up of food miles, embodied energy in goods and services, etc.)

Lifestyle choices

Then we walked to the Palace of Westminster (my first time in it!) to meet up with Peter Ainsworth MP, the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment. We had tea with him in the Pugin Room, which like the other bits of the Palace I saw, did not have compact fluorescent lightbulbs but the old energy-wasting ones. Our conversation with him was jovial, as he is in opposition, he was less defensive and more critical of some of the things the Government is doing.

He dislikes flying and said he had a carbon footprint of 18 tonnes divided by a household of 5. Again, it wasn't clear whether this included his work footprint. He too was very interested in our choice of lifestyles and the work that Oxfam was doing.

Ideas into policy?

Then we went to see Prime Minister's Questions which was entertaining and fascinating to see because I've only seen snippets of it on the News, and this was the whole thing. Then we met Steve Webb for lunch on the terrace and accompanied him to a meeting of Liberal Democrat MPs, Lords, advisors and assistants where issues of climate change were again high on the agenda. I felt quite strongly that some of our ideas might make their way into their policy documents!

Finally, we had a debrief with Oxfam and we were free to go and take a few commemorative photos... which was interesting as when we held our Carbon Rationing Action Groups banner up, near the Houses of Parliament, a policeman told us to put it away or he'd put US away!!! (Mother of all democracies?)

Moving in the right direction

So it was a busy and interesting day and I hope that our passion for low carbon lifestyles helped a few policymakers move in the right direction, and that some of our ideas may possibly take root or nourish other similar approaches.

Your MP and the other decisionakers, the Lords, advisors, lobbyists etc do have a big part to play in tackling climate change as they can steer the country towards or away from a more sustainable future. However, these organisations move very slowly and there are many opposing viewpoints, many of which do not favour policies such as 80% cuts in greenhouse gases, which may still not be enough to prevent catastrophic climate chaos. However YOU can do things TODAY to reduce your own impact. This makes us individuals very powerful (no pun intended!) people, because by switching to a greener way of living, we can demonstrate how much we care, encourage others who are continuing to behave in the old-fashioned polluting fashion to mend their ways, AND feel a little bit more virtuous and happy with our lives.

More practical 'green living' tips next week!