Generation Why talks to George Monbiot

Your Say writer Sophie Haydock interviews leading climate change campaigner, George Monbiot.

''If climate change remains unchallenged we will all be complicit in the biggest humanitarian disaster humanity has ever seen.'' ''We aren’t going to get a second chance to get this right and if we don’t act now then no-one can.'' ''In response to volunteering abroad, it is ironic that by flying there, you’d be damaging the planet in order to save it.''

You’ll probably recognise Monbiot by now - you may have seen his column in the Guardian or found yourself at his website. He has been described as one of the world’s most influential radical thinkers - he encourages us to not only think, but to act, in ways that will benefit the future. His most recently published book, Heat – How to Stop the Planet Burning, sheds light on the myths surrounding climate change and explains the vital importance that our generation leave a much lighter ecological footprint. After doing work experience at Penguin, I was lucky enough to interview him…

You say your one purpose for writing Heat is to persuade people that climate change is worth fighting. Why do you think it should matter to us? If climate change remains unchallenged we will all be complicit in the biggest humanitarian disaster humanity has ever seen. Therefore, the biggest issue we will have to deal with will be a moral one. Our generations have been the most fun-loving that have ever lived; we have enjoyed total freedom without seriously thinking about the consequences for the planet. We aren’t going to get a second chance to get this right and if we don’t act now then no-one can. We don’t want that guilt on our conscience. Therefore, it is our collective moral responsibility to pick up the challenge and deal with climate change immediately.

It’s obvious that a bit of recycling and turning-off lights isn’t going to be enough to combat the damage being done. What more can we do? As individuals there is very little you can do to be truly effective. I’ve not driven a car for 14 years to reduce my carbon emission, but by doing that I’ve just made space on the roads for someone who has a bigger, less eco-friendly vehicle. I’m not saying you shouldn’t keep trying to make a difference individually, but realistically it is far more effective to campaign alongside others for political change.

Why the importance of campaigning? Campaigning is an extremely powerful way of making unthinkable ideas thinkable. Even a year ago the idea of carbon-dioxide rationing seemed outrageous, now thanks to progress achieved through various campaigns, you see people like the Environment Secretary David Miliband discussing it as a realistic way to control climate change. Ultimately, we need much stricter policies that apply to everyone, it’s essential we persuade the government to force us to live in a more ethical, eco-friendly way.

Do you support charities like Oxfam? I am a great admirer of Oxfam and all their great campaigning work. I’m especially pleased they are taking climate change seriously now, making the link between climate change and social justice.

What is your reaction to the Stern Report? (Nicholas Stern’s Report verifies the existence of climate change and scientifically proves that it is economically preferable to deal with the effects of climate change immediately). Are you concerned that the motivation for change is economic? Yes, I am indeed concerned that the Stern Report bases its argument around economic rather than moral considerations. However, a positive thing to emerge is that people can no longer ignore the detrimental nature of climate change; at the beginning, people refused to believe climate change even existed. Then, they realised it was happening but claimed it was a good thing. Next, they understood that actually it wasn’t a good thing at all, but maintained that it would be too expensive to do anything about it. Now, as a result of the report, climate change has been scientifically proven as a problem which the world cannot afford to ignore.

You’ve made it clear in Heat that frequent air travel has serious consequences for the environment, in terms of carbon-dioxide emissions; however you see no real alternative. Typically, many young people often travel abroad during their Gap Year, perhaps they might volunteer with a charity in another country. Is this ethical? If people are prepared to travel much more slowly to reach their destination then it doesn’t have to be unethical to visit other countries. But air travel is only causing more damage to the planet. In response to volunteering abroad, it is ironic that by flying there, you’d be damaging the planet in order to save it.

At what point in your life did you realise that you wanted to make a difference environmentally and politically? I’ve always been interested in the environment since being young; however it wasn’t until I became a student that I became seriously interested in politics. The turning point came for me when I had a holiday job close to Newbury. I used to cycle past Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, and one day I stopped and began talking to the women who were looking after the camp. They were extremely passionate and were standing up for the things they believed in. For me it was a real turning point, a kind of political awakening.

Do you feel positive about the future? That is up to us. We have the ability as individuals to instigate change through collective campaigning. As a result the world is not going to get any better than it is right now, it just won’t become as bad as it could do by not taking any action.

Do you have any advice for Generation Why? Remember, you only have one life and only one opportunity to get it right and make a difference. Don’t fritter it away doing anything you don’t believe in or won’t make you proud. Most importantly, never give up and never stop trying to make a difference, there is too much at stake.