On this Earth Day, don’t forget what’s at stake

You’ll have seen countless posts wishing us all a Happy Earth Day. Saying that alone, however, or wishing it, isn’t enough. We must work to protect our Earth, otherwise it will only be something we look back on, for what it once was, not what it is and has been.

It’s not been a great year for the Earth, nor for humanity. We wake up to news of atrocities committed by invading forces in Eastern Europe; we hear about the largest movement of refugees since World War Two.

And we also don’t hear about countless other conflicts, natural disasters and famines brought about by humanity’s errors.

There are too many things we can imagine, happening somewhere- whether we know about them or not. But on this Earth Day, let’s remember what is at stake for all of us.

My colleague, Aliya, discussed Earth Day and its historic significance, through a much more optimistic lens than I am, last week in her blog. In it, she looked at the way that this year’s theme aims to inspire investment and a total approach to building a sustainable world: the underlying importance being that, across society and industry, everything that we build from now on bears the Earth, and its future, in mind.

It’s important we listen to the scientists who have been studying climate change for decades. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report, which is being released in four parts (from August 2021 to October 2022), does not paint a pretty picture. It claims that 3.5 billion people are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, while animals and entire ecosystems are threatened with extinction in the face of climate conditions that haven’t been experienced for tens of thousands of years.

All in all, it doesn’t bode well for us. Especially since the newest findings, published earlier this month, say it’s ‘now or never’; whatever future we have depends on what is done in the present moment.

The IPCC report urges that an immediate transition to a low-carbon economy be taken up, something that may help avoid the more catastrophic effects of climate change.

The good news is that the ‘final cost of doing so will be minimal, amounting to just a few percent of global GDP by mid-century, though it will require a massive effort by governments, businesses and individuals.’

The pandemic provided a massive test for the world, forcing it to adapt to circumstances never experienced on such a wide scale. Climate change, too, will impose great changes on everyone, although (like during the pandemic) some will be affected by those more than others. Many already have been.

We know that we can adapt. It’s what makes humans special, different from the rest of the Earth’s species. It’s what makes us who we are, and it’s why it’s on us to change.

Groundwork UK’s report, published this month, looks at how Green jobs ‘have the potential to provide long-term employment to thousands of people in the UK as well as to create healthier, happier, and greener communities for us all.’

Not only will prioritising green jobs work toward achieving global net zero targets, but it will also benefit the lives of those directly involved in these efforts and initiatives. Having an economy based on constructive, well-planned, and sustainable efforts is its own reward; it gives people a sense of purpose, where their actions mean something to the community and demonstrate their value to the world.

So, on this Earth Day, think about how we can live and work in a way that directly benefits those around us. It sounds wishy washy, but it really is the only way our future- any future- can exist.

Matthew Thomas

matthew.thomas@groundworknottingham.org.uk