A Climate of Truth - Mike Berners-Lee
Many answers are touted to the planetary crises we face: shifts in energy production and use, a move to a circular economy, carbon credits, tree-planting… But Mike Berners-Lee has come up with a new solution – honesty. Not just from ‘ordinary people’, but by corporations, politicians and governments.
He sets out the complexity, extent and interlocking nature of the planetary crises in a rather maths-heavy way, which was not as accessible as other demonstrations we’ve encountered, but his passion and outrage about the ‘Polycrisis’ shone through and his book was well-written and easy to read. He quotes James Baldwin, “Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until is faced,” and indeed we cannot truly face the crises unless we are given honest information and respond to it with honesty. One interesting aspect of the Polycrisis according to Berners-Lee is that of plastic use and abuse, which he references as epitomising our ‘inability to live carefully on a fragile planet’. Honesty about what we do, why we do it and the consequences of our actions would certainly underpin a more careful way of living.
There’s an argument that this is naïve – can honesty really unlock solutions? Berners Lee is eloquent in establishing that dis-honesty is very much part of the planetary crisis, citing politicians who are elected to great power despite having been sacked from a previous job for lying, and go on to act corruptly; corporations (and politicians) who want us to burn those fossil fuels and point to rising costs as a valid reason; advertisers who dishonestly appeal to us to endlessly consume in spite of the effects on our planet; the list goes on.
What should our response be to such dis-honesty? To call it out when we come across it and insist on truth from our politicians and suppliers. To respond honestly to situations that may require it, and expect others to do the same - in a survey last year across 125 countries, 69% said they would sacrifice income to fund more vigorous environmental responses from their governments whilst believing that only 43% of others would do the same. If we are all honest with each other and demand that our governments respond honestly, change just might happen.
Berners-Lee helps us with our assessments of honesty by his lists of ‘honest’ suppliers and individuals, making this more of a practical (and UK-centric) book than you might expect.
Our conclusions were mixed: the dishonesty of corporations and politicians is well-known – or is it? Dishonest voices are loud. Is ‘honest’ action enough? By the end of our lively discussion, one of our number was keeping the book as a reference, and another (who shamefacedly had not even read it yet) was determined to read it. We hope that you will too.
Rachel Ritchie