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Image Associated to 5-minute Interview with George Monbiot on the release of his new book ‘Heat’

5-minute Interview with George Monbiot on the release of his new book ‘Heat’

June 22nd, 2007

The 5-minute interview this month is with George Monbiot who has just released his new book ‘Heat – How We Can Stop the Planet Burning.’

In the book he confronts us with one of the biggest challenges the world has ever faced: to prevent the planet from warming by two degrees, this means we need to reduce global carbon emissions by 60% in 24 years. In the richest nations, this means a cut of 90%. Heat is unique in demonstrating that it can be done and is the first book ever published which presents a plausible, rigorous plan for the changes required to save the world.

1. What prompted you to write Heat?

Someone asked me at a public meeting what this country would look like if we cut carbon emissions by 80%. I realised that I did not know, and hadn’t thought about it. I wanted to find out, and to see how this cut could be made in the most politically painless way.

2. In Heat you promote the idea of carbon rationing; how would this work?

Everyone is given an equal entitlement to produce carbon dioxide, which is reduced every year until we come down to the sustainable level. If you use more than your entitlement, you must buy surplus rations from someone who has used less. It gives people a constant incentive to save emissions. You are going to want to keep the lights on, for example, but without using up your ration, so you’ll want to replace your lightbulbs with low energy versions, and buy your electricity from suppliers who uses renewables. It ensures that we consider the implications of every decision we take.

3. You claim that corporations are trying to stop us taking action in the fight against climate change. Can you give us some examples?

There are two ways in which corporations have impeded the fight. Some companies - ExxonMobil first among them - have poured tens of millions of dollars into paying people to deny that climate change is happening. Others have claimed to be part of the solution, by dressing up their existing activities in green clothes, misleading the public. Perhaps the biggest challenge we face at the moment is greenwash: fake green initiatives which bamboozle the public.

4. If you were to achieve just one thing with the release of Heat, what would you hope it to be?

To get people to see that being a better consumer is not enough. We have to become better citizens as well, demanding political change from the government and campaigning against companies and politicians which try to stop meaningful action on climate change.

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