In this blog, ACEVO’s policy officer Shareen Patel gathers recent tools, resources and initiatives to support civil society leaders take an ambitious role in tackling climate breakdown.
10 months into the year, we have seen heatwaves, extreme rainfall with warnings of flooding, and an overall intensifying climate crisis. While climate change has been described as a ‘threat multiplier’ by scientists, political representatives, and civil society on an international scale – meaning it makes already existing problems worse – the cost-of-living crisis has come to the forefront of all discussions and societal worries, and understandably so. This has resulted in the climate crisis seemingly moving further down from the top of the agenda. With that said, the two crises can be linked, and this is mainly through oil and gas companies making their biggest profits while the general population struggle to heat their homes.
First to note is the cost of climate change itself. It is increasing gradually, with research from University College London (UCL) suggesting that it could be six times higher by the end of this century than previously assumed. By 2100, global GDP could be 37% lower than it would be without the impacts of warming when considering the effects of climate change on economic growth. There is still uncertainty, though, surrounding the amount to which climate damages impact long-term growth and how far societies can actually adapt to reduce the potential damages that could occur.
We know that people are worried about how they will pay their energy bills and whether they will be able to heat their homes this coming winter, which is expected to be a long and cold one. Health leaders have warned of the prospect of endangered lives of those who use life-saving machines at home, should gas supplies run really low, and power cuts happen this winter. Moreover, charities have called on energy companies to identify and prioritise the vulnerable customers who are put at risk by these upcoming, most likely to happen, power cuts. According to Ofgem, about 6 million people in Great Britain are on priority service registers.
In July, it was reported that Shell had made profits of nearly £10bn between April and June, plus promised to give shareholders payouts worth £6.5bn as it clearly benefitted from the surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More recently, the energy giant reported that global profits reached £8.2bn between July and September. Similarly, Centrica reported operating profits of £1.3bn during the first half of 2022 and BP reported its biggest quarterly profit for 14 years, making £6.9bn in the three months to June. How can this seem fair when the majority are struggling to pay their energy bills, let alone put food on the table? Just Stop Oil activists demonstrated against this unfairness by throwing tomato soup on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery on October 14. The two activists then glued themselves to the wall and said “the cost-of-living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis. Fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”
Greenpeace Aotearoa notes it is the very same industries that are causing the climate crisis that are simultaneously collecting billions during a cost-of-living crisis. Given the windfall tax that the government introduced in July, it seems to be the case that this unfairness was somewhat acknowledged in part. The tax took effect for accounting periods on or after 26 May, though, so any profits made before then by the oil and gas companies did not apply. Now Prime Minister Rishi Sunak described it as a 25% Energy Profits Levy, applying it to profits made by companies from extracting UK oil and gas, but not those that generate electricity from nuclear or wind power. Friends of the Earth Campaigner, Kierra Box referred to this as a “weak” windfall tax.
Fortunately, and according to Greenpeace UK, both crises have the same long-term solution: putting more money into cheap, clean safe power from the wind and the sun, and making homes insulate heat in better. Green Alliance’s executive director, Shaun Spiers, said, “from expanding clean energy to improving the energy efficiency of homes, schools and hospitals, climate action has become synonymous with dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.”. Now that Sunak has come in as Prime Minister, it will no doubt be interesting to see if he really does uphold the government’s climate commitments alongside addressing the cost-of-living crisis.
Resources
- The New Economics Foundation recorded a podcast with Mika Minio-Paluello (climate and industry lead at the Trades Union Congress) and Tessa Khan (environmental lawyer and founder and director of Uplift). They spoke about how to solve the cost-of-living and climate crises together.
- Friends of the Earth has highlighted five key priorities for the new Prime Minister to restore nature, protect the climate, and fix the cost-of-living crisis.
- Greenpeace has published a blog on how to get help if you are worried about paying your energy bills.
- On Road Media, Reset Narratives & Rubber Republic collaborated on a project to explore how to communicate and connect the climate and cost-of-living crises narratives. The result is the Messaging this Moment guide.
Acting on the climate crisis
- We are currently calling for expressions of interest to join our second member working group on the climate crisis. The aims of the group are to steer and inform key decisions made by ACEVO, contribute ideas and act as a sounding board, provide updates on individual organisational work on the climate crisis, and help to elevate the issue of sustainability across the sector through individual networks. If you are interested, please submit your application to shareen.patel@acevo.org.uk before 5pm on 4 November.
- ACEVO has gathered a series of case studies showcasing positive climate leadership shown in charities, both environmental and non-environmental organisations. We have an open call for these case studies, so whatever action you have taken so far, whether it is small or large, please feel free to get in touch. It is a great opportunity to share actions taken and give examples of success, as well as share the challenges you have faced.
- ACEVO members: through the ACEVO community, you can share your thoughts on the climate emergency and discuss climate action. You can also ask questions about the environment, share any ideas you have, and promote understanding of and interest in this area.
- Charity leaders: if you have already started this journey and want to share your learning and progress, or if you don’t know where to start and need to pick up tips and insights from others, please do sign up to our climate and environmental leadership principles. The sound of this might be daunting, but by working together, we can paint a positive, action-driver picture of what a more climate-conscious sector could look like.
