It is fairly easy to come up with reasons why a Livery Company might choose to justify ignoring any response to climate change.
- We are too small and anything we do will have a negligible effect.
- Whatever we do as a Company will be overwhelmed by what is decided at a national level so the future is out of our hands.
- There are so many different opinions on what should be done that we can never be sure of the right thing to do. So we may as well wait until that is clearer.
- We will never get to net-zero emissions because our existence depends on members travelling to events in London and elsewhere.
- We are happy just being advocates and talking about things that governments and others should be doing better.
The UK could construct very similar arguments as to why it should not be investing in climate-change response.
- The UK has less than 1% of the world’s population. We are too small to make a difference.
- China, India and the US hold the world’s future in their hands, not us.
- Making policy for complex problems is difficult but, if we happen to come across something useful, we’ll be sure to let the rest of the world know so that they can get on with it.
But the UK has not taken that stance. It sees the risks of being left behind economically through being underprepared for the climate-change consequences that will affect trade and business competitiveness. It sees the opportunities to lead in new technologies and business opportunities created by the need for multiple solutions to the many aspects of climate-change response. It accepts its responsibility to play a part in influencing collective decision-making and risk-mitigation of this global threat. It recognises voters’ alignment with these issues, especially that of young voters, and the political fall-out of being seen to be laggards rather than leaders in the global response to climate change. The Climate Change Act targets are under constant scrutiny to check that they are delivered.
The position of a Livery Company within the Square Mile is analogous to that of the UK on the world stage. If we do nothing, we risk being seen as laggards and out of touch with the concerns of future generations. If we do nothing, we contribute nothing to the City of London Corporation’s Climate Action Strategy, and will be part of the problem rather than a willing collaborator in finding solutions. If we do nothing, the next generation of potential members may decide to join Companies more aligned to their values. To attempt to make an enduring difference only through advocacy, without having a Climate Action Plan, would be little more than virtue signalling without the public commitment to change. If we do nothing but preach, we will lack the moral authority to influence others.
A Climate Action Plan must also recognise a fundamental ethos of the Livery – to meet regularly in London for dinners and fellowship. LCAG accepts that — and that the solution to a sustainable future will not be achieved at any level by retreating to our duvets. A Livery’s Climate Action Plan, as with national plans, must recognise what is fundamental to a Company’s future in the round, and focus on reducing emissions and waste and on climate preparedness within these constraints. For most Companies, getting to net-zero emissions within its own boundaries will probably require some sort of responsible offsetting. That may be fine for some, but not necessarily for all. Decisions should be taken that fit each Company’s ethos.
Responding to climate change presents a complex and wicked problem, one with many different parts to the emerging overall solution set. Yet any Livery Company that accepts the challenge CAN make a difference, in ways we cannot yet know, through the changes it makes directly, perhaps innovatively, and through the authority it will earn for itself to have a positive influence on others.
And you will not be alone. LCAG can help Companies create their own Plans through its guidance notes and its collective mutual-help ethos. The most important step is the first – making the commitment to have such a plan.
Gordon Masterton,
Past Master Engineer; Chair, Recruitment and Engagement, Livery Climate Action Group