News Category: Climate Crisis

Social distancing is not a new phenomenon. In the 1600s when the plague hit the UK Charles II issued public rules and orders that included quarantine and social distancing. Of course, we’ve come a long way from the middle ages. Thankfully, we don’t have to rely on priests and rumours or even town criers to learn what’s happening in our own country or distant lands.

But as we learned from past catastrophes, I am certain there is a lot we could learn from our present plight. I, for one, am observing and learning from the vital role clear and actionable communication plays in how successful an approach is within a particular context. This crisis, unlike the SARS or Ebola crises, is omnipresent and every single country needs to face it head-on. Hence the aspects that do work and those that don’t could be used to improve how we communicate about climate change the world over.

Over the coming weeks I’d like to document what I’ve observed and some of my key take-aways.

Revisiting the basics – language of information

This is something I took a little for granted. I thought “we know what language we need to use there’s no need to revisit that”. But the current situation has made me look at it with fresh eyes.

In Stockholm, Sweden, for example, a high percent of Somali-Swedes died after testing positive for Covid-19. It’s emerged that the areas hosting larger multi-cultural populations seem to be a lot more susceptible to the disease. Upon examining why this is the case, the governing authorities have found that one of the contributing factors is that the ever-changing information and guidelines around the situation, disseminated by the government, are primarily in Swedish. Information relevant to Stockholm in Somali or even English (I rely heavily on google translate and The Local in Sweden) is sparse.

After realising this, amongst other things, Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT introduced English subtitles to their current affairs programme. And several different public and private organisations are now making information available in English and several other languages, including Somali.

Will this reduce the number of Somali-Swedes being infected? Time will tell. I hope it does.

In the face of a pandemic, it becomes clear just how important it is to revisit and critically identify the languages of one’s target audience down to the smallest minority. Is the information accessible to absolutely everyone? I believe, this lesson holds true for communication regarding the climate crisis too. Every single individual needs to be in the loop. Or at least have access to it, should they choose to learn more about it.

COVID-19 has shown that in times of crises it could save lives.

Shame as a motivator has been studied for years by psychologists and may serve as an impetus for change. But in this age of eco-anxiety is it really empowering us to make the changes we need to make?

Sweden ranks among the top 5 most sustainable countries on many a sustainability index. This can be witnessed in several aspects of life, not just flying. Our homes are heated with the garbage we produce. So much so, that the country ran out of garbage and has had to import it from other countries. And almost every busy high street has a second-hand shop that is bustling with eager shoppers looking for a hidden gem.

I’ve lived in Stockholm for the last two years. I moved here from the Netherlands and I see a growing number of young professionals feeling guilty about jetting off to some exotic location for their holidays. Greta Thunberg, the young Swedish climate activist, isn’t the only Swede to shun the skies and take on the high seas in light of the climate crisis. There has been a distinct drop in passengers at Sweden’s airport. The BBC reported that between January 2019 to April 2019 the number of passengers at the country’s busiest airports fell by 8%. A term has been coined for this pervasive feeling – flygskam – or flying shame.

From shaming to sharing

Shame as a motivator has been studied for years by psychologists and may serve as an impetus for change. But in this age of eco-anxiety is it really empowering us to make the changes we need to make? 

Personally, as a woman, I am very familiar with the debilitating aspects of shame impinged on our gender by society. It isn’t very empowering. So, I’d like to approach reducing my carbon footprint less out of shame and more out of a genuine desire and urgency to make a positive impact. I try to reduce my carbon footprint by not owning a car, taking public transport and using trains for short trips and holidays. And I tend to take a more adventurous view to a little weekend getaway. It’s an adventure on its own to take a holiday without a trip to the airport – without breaking the bank. 

I’ve found that many parts of the world have many options that are waiting to be explored.

All aboard!

The train service across Europe is extremely well organized; anyone who’s taken a gap year around Europe can attest to it. Many countries power their trains with renewable energy. The trains within the Netherlands, for example, are powered by 100% wind energy.  When I lived in The Netherlands, my husband and I took weekend trips to off-beat destinations around the country. The Dutch train service even offers weekend deals. And if you don’t speak Dutch you could use google translate to navigate the Dutch website. 

Of course, if one doesn’t live in Europe, one will need to fly here from someplace. Holidays afforded to most working folk are brief and taking a ship may not really be an option in terms of time. But then instead of hopping from country to country by flight one could cut the carbon footprint of a holiday by taking the hi-speed train, say from Frankfurt to Copenhagen. Nothing beats watching the beautiful countryside speed by. If you’re in Stockholm, you could take the train to neighbouring capitals like Helsinki or Oslo. Or even take a trip up north to see the Northern lights. These trains can be quite reasonably priced if booked well in advance. I once booked a return trip to Copenhagen on a very comfortable train for $40.

Not just in Europe

That said, train travel isn’t just efficient in Europe. In India too, the country with the fourth largest train network in the world, trains weave through and connect many parts of the country that are otherwise unreachable by plane. Having grown up in India, I must admit it used to be a hassle to stand in serpentine lines waiting to book your ticket. But with the train booking going online this time-consuming step has been cut out. You get to see a lot more of the country this way.

These are just a few of the ways I circumvent using the plane. But I do have to take it when I have to visit my family in India. But rather than riddling myself with the shame, I offset my CO2, an option provided by some airlines, and I find ways to contribute to the sustainability index of the country I am visiting. For example, in India, where water is scarce, I avoid wasting water and indulging in long showers, and wherever I go I don’t buy omnipresent disposable plastic bags and bottles. However, inconvenient it may be at the time.