Making sense of climate change – the One Planet Trust

There is no escaping climate change. It seems that you can't open a newspaper or turn on the television without receiving advice on how to green your lifestyle. Most of us are concerned, but there is a significant gap between what we say and what we do when it comes to adopting more sustainable lifestyles. If the scientists are right, that we must radically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions over the next ten to fifteen years in order to avert the worst consequences of climate instability, then we have to narrow this gap.

The Conservative Quality of Life Policy Group has been thinking about how we engage people more with the need and means to reduce our impact on the environment. This week we will publish radical proposals in the areas of tax, regulation, and leadership from the public sector. The objective is to help us become a lot smarter about how we use energy and natural resources. Given the amount of waste in our throwaway society, this will be good for the environment and good for our economy.

It is time to place less faith in the power of Big Government to change our lifestyles, and recognise that sustained change in values can only be built from the bottom up, underpinned by a broader consensus in society than exists today.

We must recognise that for many, climate change registers further down their list of priorities than other quality of life issues such as money, crime, and clean streets. Our challenge therefore is how to make low carbon lifestyles feel normal and part of everyone's agenda rather than the preserve of the committed.

Giving people simple and consistent information that they can trust is fundamental to this goal. What we have found is that people who want to do the right thing are becoming increasingly confused by the myriad conflicting messages from both the private and public sector on climate change, most of which tend to focus on 'what you can't do' rather than 'what you can do'. This is not helped by a chaotic institutional structure, which has, for example, no less than 70 national and 90 regional agencies offering businesses advice on energy efficiency.

The Government should be looking to help people by de-cluttering this information landscape.  We are therefore recommending the creation of a central hub where people can go for up to date information they can trust in a form that is relevant to them and their distinctive communities. We have provisionally called this new agency the One Planet Trust. Its remit would be to help individuals and key community institutions both find out and share what works for them and connect with one another to enhance the sense of collective action.

Through a single website, head teachers should be able to access ideas on how to green their school, help children learn by doing, and access grants. The manager of a small business should be able to receive online a tailored diagnosis of how to become more energy efficient, and compare performance against benchmark companies. Local Councils should be provided with detailed presentations on the local carbon footprint and the likely impact of climate change on their region.  Through the One Planet Trust they would find it easier to share best practice in the crucial role they have to play in promoting a more sustainable energy and transport infrastructure.

We want to support more community champions by giving them the tools to build and support local action groups such as the Marlborough Climate Action Network. For individuals, the One Planet Trust would provide answers to the most frequently asked questions on climate change, such as whether to offset or not, and to what degree. It should also be much easier to identify low carbon products and reliable local suppliers. We can learn from Germany where the Government works with consumer councils to rank products for their energy efficiency. The online information is accessed by 70% of the population, as a result of which products with a minus or unsatisfactory rating are taken off the market within a matter of months.

Information alone is not enough: it needs to be complemented by powerful financial incentives that will make low carbon options more affordable. However the creation of a single hub where people can find answers to their questions and connect with others can play an important role in generating the sense of collective action that we need to counter the greatest threat to our future wellbeing. We are now at a critical stage in terms of the need to turn rhetoric on climate change into effective action. Rather than preach and complicate, Government should persuade and simplify. Rather than impose solutions from the centre, it should be looking to help people find out what is right for them.

Nick Hurd MP, Board Member of the Quality of Life Policy Group and Chair of the Climate Change group