Local Heros

This has been the year of raising awareness. From a sea change of attitude towards plastics to the quiet determination of Greta Thunberg right through to the more noisy protests of Extinction Rebellion on the streets of London, we have witnessed a remarkable change in attitude towards the environment. People are looking to get involved, not just the “uncooperative crusties” but professionals and people who have retired who feel the need to influence the future.

I’ve had one or two interesting conversations with EiBI readers who have the technical knowledge and experience in energy-saving projects through their work and now feel compelled to take that knowledge into their community. One reader had a whole host of ideas for his local area but was searching a way of conveying those ideas to the local population.

So will 2020 be the year when the call to action gets converted into action? I don’t think we can expect a huge upturn in activity but ideas will need to start coming together. Interestingly, Extinction Rebellion really doesn’t have any hard and fast idea of how they would hit their ambitious target of zero carbon by 2025. However, one of their three stated aims is to create a citizens’ assembly to “bring together ordinary people to investigate, discuss and make recommendations on how to respond to the climate emergency.”

So it is encouraging that the government seems to have taken their advice. Over 30,000 letters have been sent to invite members of the public to join such an assembly aimed at outlining how we can meet net-zero emissions targets.

The 30,000 invites have been chosen at random to participate in the Climate Assembly UK, which will run for four weekends between January to March next year in Birmingham. A sample of the invites will then be selected from respondents to the invites, with 110 people taking part in the assembly. You might say that their proposals are no more than a recommendation to

Government but experiments with citizens’ assemblies have had striking successes in Ireland. For example, in 2017, one recommended ending a constitutional ban on abortion. This is now law.

So if you get the chance to participate, grab the opportunity. If not, use the idea as an inspiration to create your own local community group that can make a difference. There is a vast reservoir of enthusiasm out there. Tap into it and turn awareness into action.