Debate continues on whether the COP series of events, actually deliver change. It has been widely reported that environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg will not be attending this year’s COP 27 in Eqypt, calling the event ‘greenwashing’.
Recent data from Energy & Climate suggests that if all the actions pledged at COP 26 take place, there will be a net saving of 9,500,000,000 tonnes (or 9.5 gigatonnes) of CO2. This is compared to the CO2 cost of 131,556 tonnes of CO2 to get delegates to Glasgow.
We believe that the British Society of Soil Science is the only Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with the sole focus of sharing evidence around soil. This year as Bruce and I attend the Congress, our aim is two-fold:
- To highlight our asks and recommendations for policymakers, to as many delegates as possible
- To develop links with national and international organisations and policymakers, to establish the British Society of Soil Science as the go to organisation for all matters soil-related.
We are not immune to the irony of flying halfway around the world to advocate for climate solutions. We know that the environmental impact we will have whilst attending COP won’t be insignificant. However, we believe that now is the time to recognise that soil is key in climate change mitigation: whether it is in discussions about land use for generating renewable energy, the type of diets we should have in future or flooding and erosion, all topics come back to soil.
The videos we produced ahead of the World Congress of Soil Science, aimed to highlight this link by connecting soil to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our four videos, Life on Land (SDG 15), Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), and Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), continue to have wide-reaching appeal and over the next two weeks we will continue to promote the videos as a way to introduce soil’s importance to a range of audiences.
We are a diverse Society, representing almost 900 members whose professional expertise span sectors and research areas which align closely to those UN SDGs. Our role as a NGO provides us with the opportunity to share this with those who will make the decisions which affect all of our futures.
Sarah Garry, Executive Officer and Bruce Lascelles, President will be attending COP 27 in Egypt.
The British Society of Soil Science has committed to be a ‘carbon positive’ organisation by 2030. Whilst we agree how to make these changes in an effective and sustainable way, we will be offsetting the carbon from our flights via Ecologi.
