01 SPECIAL ISSUE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2020
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
NEWSLETTER
JUNE 5TH 2020 THIS ISSUE
Keeping yourself busy in Quarantine A Covid-19 feature Some Positive Eco News Our Recommendations
ECO SCHOOLS
Eco-schools is a new partnership formed between many schools around London in 2019. North London Collegiate School, South Hampstead High School and St Paul's Girls' School have formed a closer partnership and have been working together to produce this newsletter. The 5th of June is world environment day, a day designated to encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment, as schools we wanted to bring awareness to some environmental issues, share our passion and provide some entertainment in this difficult time. Find more information about world environment day at; https://www.worldenviro nmentday.global/
COVID-19 AND THE ENVIRONMENT
You may have seen in the news that greenhouse gas emissions have decreased as a result of Covid-19. Although this is true, with total emissions projected to be down by 8% this year, we must be clear about what these figures mean. This decrease will have absolutely no effect on slowing the rise of global temperatures. In fact, if we want to get even close to keeping global warming below two degrees, we will need a 7.5% decrease in emissions every year for the next ten years. Obviously, having the entire population paralysed in lockdown is unrealistic and has had severe impacts on the economy as well as personal wellbeing. Also, this statistic shows that behaviour change alone cannot decrease emissions enough – 8% is hardly significant for half the global population being homebound for nearly 2 months. We need a more fundamental reinvention of our core practices to achieve the required decrease in greenhouse gas emissions. In amongst the havoc of economic turndown we are being given an opportunity. We are being given a chance to rebuild from scratch, with governments currently in the process of allocating massive economic stimulus packages to re-boot their battered economies. The inclusion of green investment in these packages is absolutely crucial and we are in a race against time to get our voices heard. That is why, today, we are launching our emailing campaign: Get everyone you can, student or adult, to email their MP and demand that they support green investment, which is not only sustainable but economically advantageous. It cannot be underestimated how fundamentally important these plans are – we are talking trillions of dollars, and their effects will be felt for at least 10 years, so if investment in fossil fuel happens, there is little that can be done in the coming decade to impact our emissions trajectory. As much as individual action is important, it is undeniable that governments have the most power - they control 70% of the world’s spending on energy - so it is absolutely crucial that we exert political pressure. We are seeing glimmers of hope that change may happen. In a recent survey in China, 87% of people believed that climate change was as big a threat as Covid-19. The mayor of London, joined by mayors in cities across the world, has recently unveiled plans to increase walking and cycling, as we all know that we simply cannot return to the pre-Covid level of car use. In addition, we are seeing the capacity for collective action when it feels as if isolationism is permeating global politics. Climate change, like Covid-19, is certainly a global problem and will require partnership at the highest level to construct solutions.