Climate change: our new responsibility

Dear Editor.

Population has certainly grown rapidly: 5000 years ago, there may have been as few as 5 million people on the planet. There are now upwards of 6.7 billion, and may be as many as 9.7 billion by 2050. Even if CO2 emissions were a (low) 0.5 tonnes per person per year (as it is in many impoverished communities), this growth would have added some 3 billion metric tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere each year. The truth is, however, that humans add nearly 30 billion metric tonnes per year. It isn't just population growth that is the problem, but what those people do: and the consensus is that we need to rapidly reduce our CO2 emissions by 60-80%. This will take action at every level of our lives. In terms of food miles, 'local' can indeed be hard to define: Welsh cockles are often jarred in Holland for UK consumption. But then African- grown coffee is packed in India then shipped to the UK, and Canadian prawns in Iceland before they reach us. The embedded costs of transport ('food miles') are not small: UK food is transported 30 billion km before consumption. 19 million tonnes of CO2 are added to the atmosphere each year. We should press hard for clear environmental labeling but, meanwhile, try our best to order locally (yes to farm shops- or try 'Growing Communities'; yes to English wine, or perhaps French rather than Australian). Meanwhile, we must also address travel: one 2 mile journey each week to the shops may not seem much, but it is when lots of people do it. Driving to shops for food probably adds another 2 million tones of CO2 to the atmosphere in the UK each year: that's 1,016,000,000,000 litres, of which 203,200,000,000 litres will still be there in 1000 years time. Flying isn't the only issue we need address- but it is one. Each UK adult is responsible for about 12 tonnes of CO2 emissions (both direct, and 'embedded'). Avoiding flights can make a substantial impact on this personal total.

So, yes: discussion of population growth is somehow considered 'politically incorrect'. It should not be. It should be addressed urgently, as a clear priority. So, too should other 'whole planet' issues- such as deforestation and its impact on climate. But no-one should abandon personal action, which does make a difference- through cumulative totals, setting examples and changing the bahaviour of others, and through creating a permissive environment in which business and government can act.

Competing interests: HM is a member of the Climate and Health Council