Although 2020 is now behind us, it’s certainly not a year that anyone on the planet is likely to forget anytime soon! The Covid-19 pandemic dominated the year and the headlines. The vaccination programme is now in full swing with the hope that the majority of UK population will have received their jab by the Autumn.
Our hope is that the world will once again turn their attention to focusing on climate change and the ever decreasing deadline of 2030 to get our emissions down.
People want to buy from sustainable, ethical businesses
In a recent study, four out of five people choosing companies that have a positive approach to environmental sustainability, now is the right time to make your business sustainable.
The report, from a study commissioned by SmartestEnergy, found that 90% of people agreed that it’s vital that as a society we become more energy conscious. That means thinking about what we consume, where it comes from and the impact it has on the environment.
Will the future be green?
Post Covid-19, we’re building back better, greener. With many businesses using the opportunity to rebuild their business more sustainably.
In August the UK Government set out legally binding targets to help the country to “build back greener”, with four priority areas: air quality, resource efficiency and waste reduction, biodiversity and water. The Environmental Bill sets out a plan to build a cleaner, greener and more resilient country for the next generation.
Switching to renewables is the most cost effective option out there
As you’ll know if you’ve switched your energy this year, the cost of renewables is rapidly decreasing and fast becoming the most cost effective energy choice for many businesses and households.
According to the International Energy Agency, solar power schemes are now the cheapest source of electricity in history. “Renewables will account for almost 90% of the increase in total power capacity worldwide 2020 and will accelerate in 2021 to their fastest growth in the last six years.“
If the world leaders continue to invest in renewable solutions, prices will continue to fall, coal and gas power stations will be shut down and replaced by renewable solutions. The more we produce, the cheaper it gets.
In October, Boris Johnson announced that the UK Government will be investing £160m into offshore wind farms, helping to power home across the UK.
Carbon reduction progress in 2020
One of the most unexpected announcements was at the UN General Assembly in September, when the Chinese President announced that China aims to be carbon neutral by 2060!
The next critical climate change conference is coming
The next UN Climate Change Conference COP26 will take place in Glasgow in November 2021,
During the last summit in 2015, we saw all the countries of the world coming together for the first time and agreeing to a unified approach to tackle climate change. They agreed to work to decrease carbon emissions to limit global temperature increase to under 2C by the end of the Century… unfortunately we’re way off track! By 2030 we are expected to seen have seen an increase of 1.5C and likely exceed 3C by the end of the Century.
So the summit, which was originally due to be in November 2020, really can’t come soon enough. The sooner the spotlight is shone on the issue, with the world looking on, the more likely the world leaders are to commit to stricter targets.
#togetherforourplanet #cop26 #climateaction
If you haven’t started thinking about how you can help to tackle climate change, now is the time! Get in touch and we can start you on your sustainable business journey.
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