To want clarification of what the climate protestors specifically want the government to do

[Mammajay]

What is it exactly that the protestors want. I keep seeing people on TV saying we want the govt to act but apparently our country is ahead of most in action to reduce carbon emissions, but countries like China and Russia do little to help the climate

Tell me, how is free home power going to hinder the poor?

I already told you. The LL will hike the rent to cover the cost.

You can't put the cart before the horse and expect to move forward.

Oh, right, the government pays! Uh huh. With what exactly, brass buttons?

Yawn.

So the landlord increases rent by 250 a month but you save 500 amonth because you dont pay for power. Yeah, fuck the poor by putting 250 in their pocket each month

The landlord would raise the rent by £600 a month, a surcharge for using their electricity made by their solar panels

Well if youre going to be silly...

I’m being realistic! Haven’t you ever read a thread on here about bad landlords? (Not tarnishing all with the same brush, I’ve had some very lovely landlords)

Ah yes. Fuck it all because theres a few bad landlords

I’m not saying fuck it all, I’m saying be realistic.

Being realistic- the planet is fucked and requires everyone to make major changes to have any chance or at least minimise the devastating consequences on the ever- nearing horizon

The solar panels on rented houses idea is great, just don’t kid yourself the poor will get free electric.

Biggest threat to the earth is over population. Look at how much the population has increased in the last 50 years. Its terrifying.

I think making it a requirement for landlords to install solar panels on all properties, without passing the price on to the tenant, just as it's their responsibility to have landlords insurance, is a great idea. There could be some sort of income based grant for homeowners. And the price of solar panels and instalation should be regulated.

People can still live like they do now (with a few changes) with renewable energy, and cutting down on meat products. The planet could saved. If nothing changes, we could do serious irreverseable damage. I'd say that's worth the hassle of change, and is better than giving up?

And who would be making sure these landlords didnt try installing them on the cheap. We have already seen where deregulation of housing has lead. Two years ago it lead to the deaths of 72 people

The landlord will EITHER hike the rent to cover the cost or do it on the cheap.

Houseshares with bills included are more expensive than those that just include rent. Whats your point?

Just so people are clear on China wrt the solar panel thing. Yes, they have heavy investment in solar panels, to the extent that Western companies cannot compete. You have to keep in mind that investment opportunities are limited in China, and it’s increasingly hard to get their money out of the country, so they tend to over-invest in whatever hot, new industry is coming out. Solar panels was just another example of that. Certainly don’t take this for a sign that the Chinese government is totally committed to tackling climate change.

If people really wanted to make a dent in carbon, they’d push for nuclear power, which is a carbon neutral method of energy generation. But no, let’s use a bunch of solar panels with a 20-year life cycle and then send them to be “re-processed” (ie dumped) in a third world country where the toxic waste will leach into the soil.
Great idea guys.

Hate green activism, they always manage to make things worse somehow due to their ignorance.

Its not as though nuclear power produces any waste that could be dumped in a third world country is it?

The protestors aren’t saying it will be easy for a government to implement change but it is absolutely necessary unfortunately.

Its not as though nuclear power produces any waste that could be dumped in a third world country is it?

Nope. It’s usually stored at the site itself.

I would suggest:

1. Heavily subsidise and improve public transport
2. Investment in the national grid - no point generating more renewable energy if the grid is at capacity
3. Raise the sustainable build standards for new homes

^^Those are big things the government could look at doing.

Otherwise it is ultimately down to lifestyle choice and the biggest things we can do on a personal level to limit our carbon footprint are to limit our family sizes and reduce the amount of meat we eat.

Surely as a world problem, we need a world people's assembly?

Two of the best things we could do would be mass propagation of nuclear power and GM food. Environmentalists, for some reason, don't like either.

I'm all for going further with personal awareness as well. We've done great with plastic, although we are in danger of creating low hanging fruit whereby people think because they don't use straws they have done their bit. More awareness of the impact of flying, food production chains etc.

Government regulation on big businesses. Interventions on a personal level are always tricky because as pp have said, these always hit the poor hardest. It shouldn't be the consumers job to reduce plastic waste, it should be the companies job to make sure plastic free alternatives are available and affordable.

YANBU! I keep hearing interviews with the protestors and all you get is 'if a hippie is in central London and wants hummus, it only comes in a plastic pot' (actual quote) and general handwaving about 'the environment'. It's really, really unclear what they actually expect to happen.

If we don't take climate change seriously, all the major cities will shut down (and it won't be pretty). You do understand that, right?

I fully understand that - what I am saying is that we are doing way too little way too late, but my going to live in a cave off grid won't help unless everyone else joins in. We need to shut down London immediately and permanently and figure out a new way to do economics and government where we don't rely on the Ponzi scheme of raping the planet for economic prosperity.

I haven't painted a boat pink or flown in from LA make these points.

It’s already too late. Too many people consuming too many resources. It cannot be stopped. The best we can hope for is to make enough change to avoid a mass extinction event. That’s not hyperbole, it’s the generally accepted scientific and mathematical scenario. When resources are outstripped by demand war, famine or disease will bring the population back to sustainable levels. With some changes, our little island has a theoretically sustainable population, so our greatest threats will be war (invasion by displaced/threatened populations) or rising sea levels leading to less land leading to less resources leading to war/famine/disease.

I agree that the protests do not appear to be the best way of raising this, and that their demands are unfeasible, but until the government does #1 and admits the full scale of the problem nothing can be salvaged.

My parents live in the grim north of england and havent paid an electric bill in the 10 years since getting a few solar panels installed. Theres no excuse

My roof faces east/west.... that's a fairly good excuse. Plus I live in Scotland.

Personally I think the UK as a whole is doing a fairly good job of dealing with climate change. Rather than targetting Heathrow with their banners and superglue, they should be addressing the issue of consumerism, fast fashion, the disposable attitude everyone has cultivated.

Not really any different from Swampy living in the trees at the Newbury bypass though, is it? Crunchies will always need their "cause".