The world has been irrecoverably damaged by a species which developed tools. However; a green “new deal” may yet repair much of this damage. A sense of urgency must be created, half way though the ten years to save the planet we should be doing lots more than we are. Governments mostly seem to talk about having a plan some time in the future.
The Green Party manifesto will be carefully considered for implementation.
An Office of planetary responsibility will be established.
The Environment Agency will analyse every product and rate each for carbon impact, recycling rates, landfill by volume and health threat. The resultant “E-index” will determine the V.A.T. levied on that item. Every product will have a webpage detailing the issues which need resolving. Every support will be made available to developing solutions; grants may be made available for research, investment and providing access to expertise, or establishing collaborative networks to develop solutions. Financial rewards, based on country wide savings, job creation and international impact will be available. This operation will be shadowed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Department of the Environment will audit larger companies’ net zero plans and publish findings. Fines will be imposed for greenwash.
Planned obsolescence will attract additional taxation; especially for new launch products.
We will design a hexagonal building brick with holes in each face to allow bamboo reinforcements, these will enable the construction of earthquake proof buildings as well as capturing carbon in fast growing bamboo.
Roughly one-sixth of U.K. carbon emissions come from domestic dwellings. Many are poorly insulated. Nordic cultures traditionally build stone house with turf roofs, keeping the building warm in winter and cool in summer. This will be done in the U.K. using grass types that grow quickly and thickly, without weighing down the roof. As many roof tiles are red or brown a lighter colour of grass would provide a bonus of increasing the sunlight reflected.
European housing frequently features shutters; traditionally wooden but increasingly the metal roller type. These are rare in the U.K. as many window designs open outwards. Measures will be investigated to remedy this, allowing the wider use of w shutters to cut heating costs and reduce energy use and associated carbon emissions. There will be an added bonus in terms of domestic security. There will be a VAT holiday for materials and installation costs.
It may be necessary to build de-salination plant with aqueducts to bring the resulting fresh water inland.
Methane has a much higher impact on global warming than carbon, and thawing tundra will lead to the release of significant levels of methane. Methane capture and sequestration methods will be investigated.
There will be a compulsory introduction of eco-developments, preventing patenting and “warehousing” products and techniques which would help the planet. This would ensure all beneficial ideas are implemented, avoiding situations such as the case of a large manufacturer of razor blades buying the patent for a razor blade sharpener- but not bringing that product to market for twenty-five years- subsequently increasing profits from disposable items which increased resource use and landfill. The Environment agency would have a dedicated department dealing with this.
Grants for domestic bee keepers will be made available, bus shelters will be roofed with bee-friendly plants.
Financial incentives will be provided for high streets to remove plastic shop fronts and replace with better insulated materials in line with the building’s upper stories.
The sale of helium balloons will be prohibited.
The planting of cork trees will be encouraged; they absorb lots of carbon; regrettably it will be necessary to inform the general public that planting the corks from their wine bottles won’t cause a cork tree to sprout.
QR Codes on all products will contain re-cycling information and – on foodstuffs- E numbers contained. Supermarkets will provide code readers for those without smart phones. It will make life easier for the conscientious shopper and nudge manufacturers and retailers toward the best green solutions.
Net Zero is a worthwhile short term aspiration; but we should be looking at reversing the impacts of the industrial era by going beyond net zero emissions to net zero in total. It’s not enough to stop making it worse, we’ve got to fix it as best as we can.