By Gabrielle Trenbath

Most of us have been hearing a lot about climate change, especially after the Stern report was released in the UK. With all the information and statistics that have been made available, many young people and professionals find it challenging to know what to do to make a positive difference.

Human existence has a huge impact on the planet and as Kofi Annan correctly points out that human activities were putting "such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted" (Emad Mekay, Triage for an Ailing Planet: 1). While it is important that both big business and governments should conduct their business in an environmentally friendly way and provide leadership in doing so, it is individuals who can provide the real difference in the sustainability of our planet.

The Global Environmental Facility, the world’s largest environmental funding body, received a boost in funding recently after 32 countries arranged to contribute 3.13 billion dollars over the next four years. This amount is aimed to fund projects that look at biodiversity, climate change and land degradation.

The Frank Team (although they are Australian-based, yet their ideas could be transferred into other countries) have a number of suggestions regarding sustainable living including:
§ Use biodegradable toilets;
§ Consume as much local food (to reduce to amount of petrol used to transport food from one place to another), and increase governmental support of local brands;
§ Increase instillation in houses such as double glazing;
§ Enhance government subsidies on water tanks including tanks sold to industry;
§ Add solar collectors on every Australian house;
§ Reduce politicians pay by 2% until they do the above.

These ideas might seem a bit extreme but climate change is such a big issue that extreme measures are needed to address it. The suggestions made by the Frank Team and the Global Environmental Facility shows that work has to be done by individuals, Government and industry. We are all responsible for what happens to our planet and we need to keep the government and businesses accountable and responsible for their promises.