You can blame big oil companies if it makes you feel better. However, their products (oil, gas, plastics, etc) exist to quench people’s demand. They are not discovering, extracting, refining, shipping and storing oil and gas in the hopes that one day they will find a use for it and be able to sell it.
So governments and corporates can set the stage for change but it really comes down to the consumers of the world to make changes (forced or willingly) before we will see significant or meaningful change in environmental or climate impact.
With the world population expected to grow to just under 10 billion by 2050 there will be some additional strains on the environment. If countries haven’t been able to reach their Paris Accords targets previously, adding an additional 2 billion people in 30 years, a 25% increase, is unlikely to make the challenge easier.
So to reduce environmental impact, consumers will need to switch to new, clean energy sources in 2022. They / we will have reduce more, reuse more and recycle more if the world population has any chance of making a noticeable impact. To that end, what would you be willing to do? Give up on that new electric toothbrush and buy a bamboo one? Drive less? Stop air travel? Buy fewer clothes and plastic items? Only buy food from your country or local area? Reduce meat and dairy consumption to once per month?
I think most people find it incredibly difficult, or undesirable, to significantly shift their personal consumption habits whether it is to benefit climate change or not.
What would you give up to save the planet?
Your Thinking...