Why Donate

Today's electric vehicles can travel up to 100 miles and charge in 30 minutes, using only £2 worth of electricity.

The transport sector currently accounts for around 29% of all UK Greenhouse gas emissions. Passenger cars dominate carbon emissions for transport. Since 1990, CO2 emissions, from road transport have increased by 11%; yet emissions from the energy supply industry and businesses have fallen by 16% on average over the same period. Private domestic car numbers and their emissions are rising, 40% of all transport emissions are from private cars. Tackling this transport issue offers one of the greatest social benefits of all decarbonisation measures.

Each UK citizen spends an average of 376 hours a year travelling, covering a total distance of 7,000 miles each. This equates to an hour and a half a day and 15% of our average income spent on moving around. You can travel 900 miles in an electric car for £20, the equivilant journey in a petrol/diesel equivilant would cost you £138. Since 90% of all journeys are less than 100 miles, you can use electric cars right now to help reduce your transport costs. As a nice by-product the planet breathes a little easier to.

Fully electric vehicles offer the most direct opportunity to decarbonise road transport over the long term. Advances in technology today have created batteries offering extended range and faster charging times. Electricity is already well placed to be the dominant fuel of the future. This year sees the roll out of several breakthrough electric vehicles.

Under the current grid mix EV's power consumption represents just over a 50% CO2 saving compared to petrol/diesel vehicles. This will decrease to near Zero as the electricity network is decarbonised through renewables. 

Running the entire UK car and taxi fleet on electricity would require a quantity equal to 16% of current electricity demand. 95% of charging happens at night however when demand is low, therefore no additional electricity supply would be required for an increase in peak demand. 

"One ought never to turn ones back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it for you will double the danger. If you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half." Winston Churchill

Fossil fuels clearly cannot last forever. In 2005 the UK became a NET energy importer for the first time in 25 years due to a drop in North Sea production. Replacing North Sea extraction with imports would add £53 billion to our trade deficit.

Oil is at the center of our world's economy. It took the earth 320 million years to produce 1.7trillian barrels of oil and humans only 200 years to burn through half of it. When we first started drilling for oil 100 years ago it took 1 barrel of oil to extract 100. Today that ratio is 1 barrel for 20.

95% of the world's oil currently in production is easily extractable "conventional oil". Conventional Oil is expected to run out in 2031, creating a drastic rise in prices. These rising prices will make the expensive extraction of 'unconventional' oil become economically viable. This will push millions of people into fuel poverty. 16% of UK households are in fuel poverty today, it must be eradicated. De carbonizing the economy will help those on lower incomes by limiting the volatility of energy prices as fossil fuels deplete.

"Effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction." John F Kennedy

The need for solutions that deal proactively with long term challenges of climate change and high oil costs is urgent. There is a common solution to a changing climate, the failing economy, diminishing fossil fuel resources and rising energy prices. The need to decarbonise the economy has never been greater.

Instead of endless stable growth and equitable incomes we've had inequality, volatility and crises. Governments around the world have passed stimulus plans totaling trillions of pounds. Only a small proportion has been used to promote the promised future low carbon economy. Recovery plans have been consumption led, taking the world closer to ecological tipping point.

The fiscal stimulus measures intended to pull the economy out of recession represent an invaluable opportunity to decisively change the UK in to a low carbon economy. A programme of investments in decarbonisation would help build a modern and sustainable economy, securing our competitiveness and future prosperity in the new global economy that will emerge from this crisis.

Over the longer term, decarbonisation will entail significant permanent changes to our economy. The economy as a whole will be less dominated by the financial and service sectors and have more influence from sustainable and equitable solutions.

In addition to creating new jobs at a time of rising unemployment, the economic benefits of low carbon investments bring additional pluses of avoided costs for expensive fossil fuel extraction and environmental damage.

UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could collectively save nearly £400 million per year in energy costs by reducing their carbon emissions.

We need to come together and accelerate the solutions to combat anthropogenic climate change.

Historic responsibility for climate change is not equal between countries globally. It is the rich world that is responsible for emissions. The implications of climate change are not distributed equally either. Often those least responsible for emissions are the most at risk from a changing climate.

Combined with efforts to restructure our economic and financial system, we can create a decarbonised, equitable society for ourselves, the environment and future generations.

Everyone must play an active part in decarbonisation by accepting, supporting and calling for positive change.

The ratio of a FTSE 100 CEO against the average British worker is 1374:1 and this inequality is not functional. The UK is the most financially unequal country in Western Europe. Economic theory states that such inequality manifests itself as unstable economic growth, recession, rising inflation and mass unemployment – the likes of which the UK is currently experiencing.

"Without concerted action now, the world will be faced with temperature increases far in excess of 2 degrees C, with unthinkable impacts" Robert Watson, Chair of IPCC.

The average temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface has risen by about 0.8°C since the start of the 20th Century. Warming the planet by several degrees takes us in to unchartered territory. A temperature rise of between 4-6°C would be similar to the difference between our current climate and the one of the last ice age.

By lowering our carbon emissions we can work towards reducing this destruction. The impact to our environment and climate is vast:

Rising Sea Levels – If the West Antarctic ice sheet were to melt for example, global sea levels would rise by 5 meters. Half of humanity lives in coastal areas. Low-lying areas risk being swamped and flooded.

Extreme Weather – Floods, droughts and tropical storms are becoming more severe and will worsen causing untold havoc to those living in affected areas. The Association of British Insurers estimates that UK households will pay up to four per cent extra each year due to extreme weather events.

Plants and Animals – the rise in temperatures and waterfall affects the way animal and plant species grow and live. The risk of extinction for some is ever increasing. Ecosystems struggle to cope with rapid change. 30% of all species are likely to be extinct after temperature a 2°C rise. High bio diversity areas such as coral reefs are threatened by low level warming. A rise of 4°C would result in 70% of all species facing extinction. The amazon would totally collapse and become desert savannah after a 4°C rise. Forests are large reservoirs of carbon, if they fail mass stores of carbon are released back into our atmosphere.

Water – A rise of 2°C would give shortages to 2 billion people as fresh supplies become affected by unpredictable and variable rainfall. Salt contamination of underground water sources is another problem from rising sea levels. Diminishing melt water from glaciers supply water to 1/6th of the world.

Donate to us today to help us manage the risks of climate change to protect the world we live in.