A lockdown for climate change

I applaud your efforts to consult the public. My contribution is an open letter I sent to Derek Thomas last week and posted online. Please forgive me posting it in full. I hope it is of some interest:

We need a lockdown for climate change. The only thing that prevented thousands of extra deaths from the Covid 19 virus was lockdown: A temporary but clearly defined (and quite extreme) restriction on what we could do and where we could go, enforced by the rule of law and such social cohesion as we could muster. Perhaps we could consider the lockdown for Covid as a practice - in some ways it showed us what was possible, if we were sufficiently motivated, and pulled together (most of us, anyway). A lockdown for climate change might include some of the things we have got used to under Covid; restrictions on flying, more working from home and less travelling generally, staying local, discovering our neighbourhood (and our neighbours?), being more community-minded, buying food from local suppliers, maybe even growing our own, valuing nature, valuing ‘front line’ workers. Of course, a lockdown for climate change would put no restrictions on who we could see, and schools and shops, public transport, libraries, swimming pools etc wouldn’t need to shut their doors as they have had to for Covid.

It would save the planet, for our children and our children’s children, but there would be a catch: In order for us to transition to a green economy, replace all our fossil fuels with renewables, insulate our housing stock, develop new energy sources, new technologies (clean fusion, carbon capture?) we would need 15 years. 15 years of making do with a quieter, simpler life. Less commuter travel, no flying off to foreign parts, less choice at the supermarket, less slavery to fashion (and less slaves making it), less new technology every 5 minutes. We could eat well, sleep well, breathe well, prioritise health and community, creativity and education, environmental recovery, social justice. Just for 15 years, sit back and watch nature heal. We could do it. We’d have to change a few things: create green jobs, work less hours, maybe put everyone on a liveable minimum wage. We’d need to discuss it. But the virus didn’t wait and nor will climate change. We can work out the details as we go along. We need to do it now.