Ah Christmas. Food. Presents. Films. And those relatives you’ve managed to avoid for the past 364 days.
There’s no denying it, Christmas is fraught with familial tensions – whether it’s your 98-year-old granny constantly setting off Alexa or that annoying uncle who thinks Donald Trump ‘has some good ideas’.
Throw some climate change into the mix, and things can start to get explosive.
So, to help you knock back some of the more common myths spouted by climate change deniers, the team at the Rainforest Alliance have put together some ready-made answers to shut down any potential arguments and keep the peace at the dinner table.
Aunty Karen: ‘We’ve already had snow this winter – so much for global warming!’
Karen, there’s a big difference between climate and weather.
Weather fluctuates day in, day out, whereas climate refers to long term trends – and the overall trend is clearly and indisputably a warming one.
While the impacts of climate change have only just begun to hit the Global North, farmers in the tropics have been contending with impacts – from droughts to floods to a proliferation of crop-destroying pests – for years.
Cousin Greg: ‘Climate change has always happened, it’s normal’
It’s true that there have been periods of global warming and cooling – also related to spikes and lulls in greenhouse gases – during the Earth’s long history. But those historic increases in CO2 should be a warning to us – they led to serious environmental disruptions, including mass extinctions.
Today, humans are emitting greenhouse gases at a far higher rate than any previous increase in history.
All the more reason for us to act now.
Uncle Stu: ‘There isn’t even agreement between scientists that climate change is real’
So wrong. There is nearly 100% agreement among scientists.
In addition, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that global warming is accelerating, and will reach 1.C above pre-Industrial levels around 2030 – a full decade earlier than previously forecast.
The grandad who thinks he’s a farmer because his grandad was: ‘Plants and animals will adapt’
Wrong again. Yes, animals and plants are masters of adaptation – just look at the platypus or blob fish.
However, because human-caused climate change is happening so rapidly, species simply don’t have time to adapt.
Frogs tell the story best. With their semi-permeable skin, unprotected eggs, and reliance on external temperatures to regulate their own, they are often among the first species to die off when ecosystems tip out of balance – and they’re dying off in droves.
The Rainforest Alliance chose a frog as its mascot more than 30 years ago precisely because it’s a bio-indicator: A healthy frog population signals a healthy ecosystem.
The ‘uncle’ who isn’t an uncle, he’s just your parents’ friend: ‘Climate change is good for us’
Where do you even start?
The human cost of climate change will be enormous, incomprehensible.
The evidence points to a clear link between climate change and a surge in modern slavery – when crop failures, drought, floods, or fires wipe out livelihoods and homes, people migrate in the hopes of improving their lot, but can find themselves vulnerable to human trafficking and forced labor and other human rights abuses.
And the overall economic cost is staggering – the global economy could lose $23 trillion to climate change by 2050.
Miserable cousin Kate: ‘I believe in climate change – but it’s too late to do anything’
It isn’t too late. It’s true we don’t have time to waste, but if governments, businesses and individuals begin taking drastic action now, we can keep warming within the 1.5C target set by the Paris Agreement.
What can you do to make sure that happens? A lot. From sustainable tech and second-hand clothes, to electric cars and gorgeous gardens, we can all do our bit.
Learn more about the Rainforest Alliance here
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