On Thursday I went to an event organised by the Green Alliance, where a panel of experts presented their priorities for what they think will be the last parliament that could take substantive action to address climate change.

The new parliamentarians

Their recommendations were well thought-through and interesting but not startlingly new. One of the problems for any discussion like this is that there is a growing consensus about what needs to be done, but very little idea as to how to create the political will to actually make it happen.

For me, the most surprising revelation was that at least 30% of MPs in the next parliament will be new to the job. The only specific training that new MPs seem to get for their role is a tour of the House of Commons, which doubtlessly points out the locations of the bars and the expenses office. 

This is totally inadequate for them to grasp the complexities and subtleties of the climate change debate. The arrival of so many new MPs clearly presents both a risk and an opportunity. 

To address this, one of the suggestions from the experts was that MPs should instigate and support projects that tackle climate change within their local community. This would give them practical, hands-on experience of the challenges and opportunities that are presented by a low carbon economy.

Stairway to hell

On Thursday morning I headed off to one of the City’s major law firms for a breakfast discussion on ‘Management in Challenging Times’. 

Apart from the free croissant, I am not sure what compels me to go to this sort of event. I guess it is in the hope of meeting some interesting people and picking up the odd nugget that I can use in my job.

One common theme in most discussions about management styles at the moment is the need for greater collaboration. I really liked the example of one company who use only two measurement tools to assess the performance of their staff. 

Employees have to demonstrate how their knowledge has been used by other people within the company to deliver activities. And they also have to give examples of where other employees have actively sought their involvement in an initiative due to the skills and knowledge that they can bring.  It seemed to me to be a really simple way to value and promote greater knowledge and skills sharing.

On leaving the event, I decided to take the environmentally sound option of walking down the stairs rather than using the lift. 

Unfortunately, I had reckoned without the uber-security system of the law firm which allowed me into the stairwell but prevented me from leaving at any point due to my lack of security pass.  Fifteen minutes of frantic door-banging later I was rescued by a clearly bemused and amused lawyer and helped off the premises!

What about the people?

I don’t what sort of stimulants are being taken at DECC at the moment, but the number of policy initiatives currently being announced is unbelievable. It makes you wonder why it has all taken so long. 

We would be much further towards our carbon targets and probably facing far less public scepticism if these policies had been introduced near the start of the New Labour era. 

The overall policy framework now appears to have a growing coherence and, judging by the Conservative energy policy that was released this week, will be continued whichever party is in charge. 

It is clear that the UK is likely to have new nuclear power stations and four ‘clean coal’ demonstration sites. A floor price for carbon will be set designed to give investors long-term confidence, and the welcomed (although too small) Green Investment Bank announced in the budget, will start to provide some of the much needed capital. 

The grid will be updated to make it smarter, allowing for a growing number of renewable energy sources, the most significant of which will be off-shore wind. Consumers will be encouraged to act through the provision of low-cost investment funding, smart meters and the increasing cost of energy.

Overall you would have to say it is all starting to look pretty robust, but there are three fundamental weaknesses. The piecemeal way this Government has created the policy means that it is ferociously complicated and difficult to navigate. The whole lot needs to be looked at from the point of view of the end-user to make it understandable and simple. 

The emphasis is still almost exclusively on expensive technological fixes. The quick, cheap wins are all about better energy efficiency and this still only gets lip-service in the plans of both the main political parties. 

Finally, due to the complexity of the solutions many of them can only be developed through innovative community-based activities. The Government has started to realise this with the introduction of the Low Carbon Community Challenge, but it is an area totally excluded from the Conservative strategy.

Identity is the crisis can’t you see     

Looking around the office at the 50 or so people who currently work at Global Action Plan, I would say that we are a fairly average, happy and well-balanced group. However, if you read the media the impression of ‘greenies’ is far more sinister.  

An article in The Guardian this week reported on a study stating that when people feel they have been morally virtuous by saving the planet it leads to the "licensing of selfish and morally questionable behaviour", otherwise known as "moral balancing" or "compensatory ethics". 

The report's authors argue that people who wear what they call the "halo of green consumerism" are less likely to be kind to others, and more likely to cheat and steal.

Such articles leave me fundamentally depressed. They appear to be based upon a couple of academics trying to make a name for themselves by presenting a contentious view on a limited evidence base. It is small wonder that people are skeptical about the environmental message when reports like this are given credence by media coverage.

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