After yesterday’s UK train fiasco (delays, no hot drinks, missed connections etc) which the poor souls following me on twitter had to endure, I shouldn’t really be quite so excited about yet another trip to London on Thursday this week (11th Feb).
But, apart from an excuse to catch up with Mark Shearer (one of the founders of Project Dirt, I’m also heading over to the RSA for the launch of a new publication from Green Alliance. Called “From Hot Air to Happy Endings”, this new publication is an examination of how the Government should communicate on climate change. I’m looking forward to seeing the final version “in the flesh”!
It’s been an honour to be part of the informal advisory team at Green Alliance,they are a bunch of really interesting and interested people and I’ve learnt so much from them in the past few months. But, I also think that I’ve been able to contribute too. My work with communities over the past few years has given me a real insight into how “ordinary people” AKA you and me, think and feel about climate change and sustainability. I’ve written and spoken a lot recently about how we need to make low carbon living tangible, to present real stories of how it feels to live and work in a society where energy efficiency and sustainability matter enough for people to make smarter choices.
But, this needs to be more than a grass roots approach, we need businesses and Government to get involved too, and make real commitments to supporting community led responses to climate change. That’s why I was so disappointed to see Birminham’s planning committee turn down Sustainable Moseley’s application for a community solar project on St Mary’s Church which the community hope will be supported by funding from British Gas.
I hope, that organisations like Green Alliance can continue to help politicians recognise the potential that exists in our communities to make all aspects of sustainable development part of our everyday lives. There is more than enough evidence to show that collaborative approaches to community development work better than a simple “top down” or “bottom up” approach. Using the language of communities, of shared experience, hopes and aspirations we can begin to understand how policies can be framed to acknowledge the lives and motivations of UK householders. I know that “From Hot Air to happy Endings” is going to be a valuable part of the debate and hopefully a driver for change in UK policy and communications on climate change and the environment.
I’ll be tweeting about the launch this week – and looking forward to seeing how the guests at the launch event react to this latest contribution to the debate on climate change communications and I’d like to hear from you… what approaches have worked in your community or workplace – and what do you want to see your elected representatives doing to show a real commitment to the move to a low carbon society?
