Why we do what we do

Disney’s ‘Finding Nemo’ captured the world’s imagination with images of Australia’s tropical, rainbow-coloured Great Barrier Reef.

Sadly, the reality no longer lives up to the aquatic animation.

Yes, at one time the world's largest coral reef system did look like the inside of a kaleidoscope, but that’s no longer the case.

In April 2017, it was revealed that two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef has been severely damaged by coral bleaching.

And the culprit? Climate change.

As a direct result of water temperatures being too high, the coral loses its vibrant appearance, turns white and becomes weaker.

This has a rippling effect on the whole ecosystem.

So, if you’re expecting a scene brought-to-life from the family-favourite, don’t book your flight to Australia just yet.

Unfortunately, coral bleaching is the least of the world’s worries.

Sea levels are currently rising at 3.4mm a year: their fastest rate for more than 2,000 years.

In July 2017, a massive crack in the Larson C ice shelf finally gave way sending a 5,800 square km iceberg, nearly four times the size of London, into the ocean.

Sixteen of the 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001.

2016 was the warmest year ever recorded.

Extreme weather events grip the globe on an increasingly regular basis.

These changes are no longer far off on the horizon. They’re happening now.

And the goal is no longer to prevent damage, it’s to reverse it.

This was a key message at EDF Energy’s ‘Powering Scotland's low carbon future through innovation’ event in Edinburgh last month.

When Chris Rapley – Professor of Climate Change at University College London – took to the podium, the audience was held captive by his frank, and slightly frightening, presentation.

After detailing the ways in which humanity has upset the balance of our planet, and commending The Paris Agreement’s ambitious efforts to combat climate change, Professor Rapley handed the baton over to the energy industry.

Globally, the energy industry is on a multi-trillion dollar journey to decarbonisation, but the production of energy is still one of the largest sources of the carbon emissions which are damaging our planet.

Forward-thinking countries like Scotland, Denmark and Costa Rica are already rethinking their relationship with energy.

The Scottish Government’s first Energy Strategy was launched in December of last year.

It contains an ambitious new target, suggested by Scottish Renewables in January 2016, that 50% of all energy – for heat, transport and electricity – should come from renewable sources by 2030.

While its aims are commendable, there is still much left to do.

Yes, our electricity sector no longer belches smoke skywards, and this is certainly something to be proud of.

But heat makes up almost double the carbon emissions of electricity, and we have a long way to go before solving the heat puzzle.

Today, only 5% of the heat we use comes from renewable sources; we haven’t even scratched the surface of decarbonising it and we’ve barely any idea how we’re going to stop choking our planet just to keep warm.

Transport, too, is a huge issue, and one which can only be resolved if the public changes their habits of a lifetime.

Those of us who drive a petrol car know its emissions are an issue.

In the next few years we’ll probably need a new car – but will we be willing to make the change to electric to help our planet?

The excuses are all too easy to come up with:

I’d run out of charge on the motorway.

I’d forget to plug it in.

It’s more expensive to buy than a petrol model.

And it’s the same for heat.

Gas boilers are affordable and easy to install.

So, when your boiler breaks down, would you be willing to pay more in the short-term for a heat pump? Would you connect to a district heating network which could result in higher bills but potentially reduce carbon emissions?

Again, the excuses are many:

The short-term costs are too high.

The long-term benefits of these choices are too distant.

It’s easier to stick our heads in the sand, for the time being.

But there’s only so long we can ignore the truth: climate change is a threat multiplier.

Rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict.

They will likely lead to food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, and destruction by natural disasters in regions across the globe.

An average of 21.5 million people have been forcibly displaced since 2008 due to climate change-related weather hazards.

So, climate change isn’t fully responsible for the refugee crisis but it certainly contributed to it in a big way.

Climate change is only considered the third most serious issue facing the globe by the world's population, behind international terrorism and poverty, hunger and the lack of drinking water, yet it is the greatest existential threat to humanity.

There’s no more important aspect of our lives to rethink than how we, personally, tackle it.

If we can’t get the world’s six billion inhabitants to come on the journey with us, it’ll all have been for nothing.

It’s over to us as an industry, and as individuals.

We can’t, as Dory said, “Just keeping swimming” as we have been. It’s time to paddle in a completely different direction.