Chris's Forester Column: October 2009

The Copenhagen summit meeting on climate change is just weeks away. There will be few more urgent global meetings than this. It is crucial that a fair and binding deal is worked out. This means industrialised western nations prepared to make larger reductions than poorer nations and to finance low-carbon technology transfer to them. Lobby your local politicians to act on this issue with all haste.

I was at the Gloucester Countdown to Copenhagen Rally last Saturday, October 17. One of the speakers, Stroud-based environmental economist Molly Scott Cato, gave me a new phrase, 'cognitive dissonance'. Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. For example, although most of us desire a low-carbon life, it's often easier and cheaper to do otherwise so the high cost of train journeys encourages car and plane use.

I believe we need much bigger financial incentives before we see a large scale movement from high to low-carbon lifestyles. Last Saturday, however, the half-hourly, comfortable and punctual Newent/Gloucester bus service was perfect for me and my fellow passengers.

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