A history lesson: How climate change became the uncomfortable truth that we cannot afford to ignore
Climate change has been happening for a long time, but public awareness of the issue has lagged behind.
This is because scientists have only relatively recently been able to measure the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet’s average temperature.
We now know that the earth’s surface temperature, averaged over land and sea, has increased by a small amount every year over the past 100 to 150 years.
According to The Carbon Trust, the biggest increases occurred in the second half of the last century.
Scientists highlight the retreat of mountain glaciers and shrinking of the Artic ice cap as key indicators of global warming. The Carbon Trust also observes evidence that the frequency and intensity of storms is increasing in some areas.
As the evidence stacks up, there is now a growing acceptance that urgent action must be taken to reduce the risk of natural disasters.
The UN’s Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997. More than 180 countries have signed the landmark treaty, which asked them to commit to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Union set a target of 60% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. It also rolled out the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2005, which asks large CO2-producing companies to monitor their output and decrease their ‘allowance’.
This is similar in principle to the UK’s Climate Change Levy (CCL), which was introduced in 2001 as a major incentive for businesses to cut their carbon emissions, as it charges them a set rate for their use of gas, coal and electricity.
The government’s 2008 Climate Change Act set the most ambitious target yet - an 80% reduction by 2050.
Convincing the public
This is excellent progress, but general public awareness still lags behind that of policy-makers.
Up until the middle of the last decade, media attention on the environment had been limited.
The breakthrough may have been the revelation that there was a hole in the ozone layer over the Antarctic, which prompted concern over the use of CFC gases most commonly found in aerosols.
Awareness of global warming from carbon emissions has gained transit through images of its impact on nature. Polar bears stranded on broken icecaps and flooded towns make for disturbing viewing.
Chris Harrop, group marketing director at landscaping firm Marshalls, which has carbon footprinted more than 1,000 of its products and taken an industry leading stance on climate change, says awareness has increased dramatically in the last five years.
‘When the Prince of Wales started to get involved with the May Day pledge, the issue suddenly entered the business agenda,’ he says.
‘It was only five years ago that it was there to be seen. It stopped being somebody else’s problem and started to be relevant.’
Harrop believes that the UK is now leading the way in terms of climate change awareness.
‘I would say that, across Europe, we are the most carbon aware country. We are seen as the most advanced in understanding the issues and tackling them,’ he says.
Despite this, there is still work to be done to convince sceptics, who do not accept climate change as a fact, which is why the government recently launched a £6m ad campaign that aims to drill the message home.
Decarbonising the Brand aims to get under the skin of climate change and offer information and food for thought on the subject of carbon emissions. Over the coming months, you can read new articles by clicking back to this area of Marketing’s website.
By Richard Abbott
