Cicero Policy Briefer

Issue 4, September 2006

How global warming became a hot topic

By Alex Macpherson

George W Bush’s refusal to ratify the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 was, in hindsight, one of the most significant acts in the history of the climate change movement. Since then, coverage of the issues at stake has been steadily increasing – and in 2006, it has reached a crescendo which not even the most ardent cynic can ignore.

Global warming is a truly hot topic; no longer merely an issue touched upon to establish an ethical patina, a green sheen on a public profile in need of polishing, but one which has successfully been pushed to the top of a wide variety of agendas. Each week seems to bring with it a new ‘stark climate change warning’ in the press, a new suggestion on how individuals might lessen their carbon footprint, a new green sound bite from David Cameron. Lack of awareness is simply not an excuse.

What is so striking about the current debate on climate change is that there isn’t much of one any more. Ten years ago, green activists and environmental protesters were the cranks, fringe lobbyists whose pronouncements were not to be taken seriously by the mainstream. Now, this role falls to what few global warming skeptics remain: relentlessly self-publicising egotists such as Jeremy Clarkson, and fringe scientists such as Bjørn Lomborg and Dr Kendra Okonski, whose arguments tend to be driven as much by economic concerns as environmental ones, and whose credibility is not helped by a history of financial links to big business.

Instead, there is unanimity for the most part; and, more than that, a real sense of urgency. At times, of course, this can be unhelpful: Simon Retallack, of ippr, has criticised what he terms ‘climate pornography’, the reporting of the issue in terms so hysterical that the ordinary citizen feels powerless in the face of its inexorable magnitude. However, together with a rare cross-party consensus on the subject and credible celebrity endorsements such as Sir David Attenborough’s well-publicised conversion to the cause in May, the barrage of information has been extremely successful in altering public attitudes towards green lifestyles. Proof of this can be found in the way that corporate Britain has responded to changing consumer attitudes with verve, from Ford’s promise to spend £1bn over the next six years on developing environmentally friendly technologies to Tesco’s decision to reward customers who reuse plastic bags with green Clubcard points.

Moreover, the reportage on climate change in 2006 is strongly couched in terms of individual responsibility. The pressure is not only on world leaders to act to cut carbon emissions through legislation and cooperation – though, of course, from Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth to the recent unlikely alliance between Tony Blair and Arnold Schwarzenegger in defiance of George W Bush, politicians’ increased activity in this arena is encouraging – but on ordinary men and women to make environmentally conscious lifestyle decisions.

Virtually every article dealing with the potential effects of global warming also comes with recommendations on how individual consumers can lead a more ethical lifestyle. Activities such as recycling are no longer niche pursuits but have become ingrained into the fabric of quotidian life for many people – especially younger age groups, which bodes well for the future.

Such is the urgency of the overall message that, though it’s still possible to simply chuck the Sunday papers in the bin when you’ve finished with them or jet off for a well-deserved holiday, it’s no longer possible to do either without the knowledge at the back of your mind that your actions are doing the planet’s health no good. And it is this awareness which has become the most powerful tool for a movement which, in order to succeed in the long term, must be as driven by a micro-level social revolution as by macro-level politics.

Given that consumers can no longer ignore it, financial services companies certainly can’t. It would be a bold long-term strategy meeting that didn’t discuss how climate change could affect consumer and product demand. Work has already been undertaken in this regard by a good number of firms, but I feel this is merely the tip of the iceberg—and no one can claim they weren’t warned.

Alex Macpherson can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7665 9530 or click here to email.

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