By Andrew Stuttaford
Monday, April 11, 2022
Asceticism for asceticism’s sake has been a feature of
many ideologies (whether religious or otherwise), so it has not been a great
surprise that it also features so prominently in the current climate agenda.
Here is another example, via
the Daily Telegraph:
Going green needs to become a
“status symbol”, the UN has said, as it urged people to work from home more,
drive less and go vegetarian to protect the planet from
climate change.
Behavioural changes including working
from home, eating less meat and driving less could cut emissions by up to
70 per cent by 2050, a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
found.
Up to 70 percent?
Seems high.
“Having the right policies,
infrastructure and technology in place to enable changes to our lifestyles and
behavior can result in a 40-70% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
This offers significant untapped potential,” said IPCC Working Group III
Co-Chair Priyadarshi Shukla, in a written
statement. “The evidence also shows that these lifestyle changes can
improve our health and wellbeing.”
40-70 percent.
Hmmm . . .
Back to the Daily Telegraph:
Governments should “nudge”
citizens into more sustainable choices, while “status consumption” should
be discouraged, the report added.
“Judicious labelling, framing and
communication of social norms can also increase the effect of mandates,
subsidies, or taxes,” it said.
Note the phrasing, which says without (quite) saying that
the “nudging” and “discouraging” will be in addition to mandates,
subsidies, “or” taxes.
Not that the phrasing about governments framing and
communicating social norms is particularly reassuring.
There should, it is suggested, be:
“Discourses that frame comfortable
public transport service to avoid stress from driving cars on busy, congested
roads help avoid car driving as a status symbol and create a new social norm to
shift to public transport,” the report said.
“Discourses that portray plant
based protein as healthy and natural promote and stabilise particular diets.”
Discourses?
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