Last edited 18 March 2011 at 12:51pm
The single most significant step we can take in the UK to reduce carbon emission is to make Britain truly energy efficient. With the right policies at national and local levels, we can deploy existing solutions on a scale large enough to bring about real changes.
Perhaps the only problem is deciding where to start. From badly insulated buildings to poorly designed appliances and gas guzzling vehicles, the UK needlessly throws away almost a third of the energy it uses. This is costing us all dearly – damaging the climate and hitting our pockets.
Last edited 7 September 2012 at 4:33pm
Britain is already committed to a 34 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. This is a big leap from where we are now, but in reality it's unlikely to be a big enough step to stop temperatures rising to levels that result in extreme weather events and droughts. Developed countries like the UK will need to go further.
Possibly the most useful - and least understood - step we could take is to reduce our overall energy demand.
This doesn't have to mean a drop in our living standards - wastefulness is built right into the system we use. Many of our power plants (whatever the fuel type) waste around two-thirds of the energy that goes into them; our homes and offices are poorly insulated; our appliances keep using energy even on standby; our cars use only a fraction of the energy in petrol and diesel... the list is goes on.
Last edited 1 January 1970 at 1:00am
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Posted by jamie — 1 December 2010 at 12:15pm
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Home sweet home: our London HQ
As organisational director at Greenpeace UK, Matthew Pollitt has the job of making us put our money where our mouth is by improving our environmental performance, and reporting on progress to our supporters.
As a campaigning organisation we measure success in terms of shifts in policy or public perception. Internal efficiency and effectiveness - my responsibilities as organisational director - are quite rightly seen as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves.
Similarly, people don't generally visit the Greenpeace website to learn about what I do. One exception is the interest we get in what we are doing to minimise our own impact on the environment.
