Huddle 2022: should we be more optimistic about climate change?

At our annual flagship event, Huddle, we gathered together over 1000 attendees both in-person and virtually to hear from over 100 speakers to talk about ‘The Power of ‘Good’. In just one day, we ran 30+ insightful sessions exploring the rise women’s football, mobilising the mainstream media for good, rethinking business growth, the metaverse and many more.

Under our banner of ‘Good Growth’, we knew Huddle had to have its fair share of conversations surrounding the climate crisis, so we included sessions from Out-Of-Home’s sustainability credentials to sustainable fashion.

One session in particular sparked a lot of interest when our CEO, Jem Lloyd-Williams, sat down with The Times’ Science Editor, Tom Whipple, to ask a question on all of our minds – are we taking climate change seriously?

A dash of optimism

Tom kicked off by re-assuring us that even an expert like himself goes through the same cycle of emotions with climate change as many of us, from pragmatic optimism to feeling extremely depressed.

An avid climber, Tom recalled a time climbing in the Alps, when a map became outdated due to receding glaciers – an alarming sight and an all too obvious sign of our declining climate. After our first 40-degree heat wave in the UK, you don’t need to hike up a mountain to see its effects.

There is, however, space for optimism. Tom explained how we are now in a position where solar panels are, in most places in the world, the cheapest way to get electricity. Reports now show that renewables are undercutting fossil fuels on cost, driving businesses investment in this sector.

It’s not only the fact renewables are astonishingly cheap, we’ve also seen the perception of other forward-facing tech become mainstream. Electric cars, for example, have gone from being “derided as sort of milk floats for Guardian readers to the most desirable cars on the planet” says Tom. A very positive sign of the times.

Diplomacy gone mad

In this session we heard about the negotiation games played at COP this year - clauses being created just so that they could be removed, intense squabbles over specific definitions, acronyms and adjectives.

Looking past the mayhem of diplomacy, Tom was sure to say we should be hopeful. The whole total of promises made at the 2009 COP 15 meeting in Copenhagen would have kept temperate rises down to 4 or 5 degrees, which would be utterly catastrophic. Now, if pledges are enacted, we’re down to about 2.4 degrees says Tom. While this would still make for a quite unpleasant world, it’s a much better ambition than before.

The role of business

Jem and Tom discussed changes in business attitudes over the last decade. We’ve seen from our own clients that businesses are eager to start the move towards net zero, and completely recognise their own role within the transition.

Tom offered insights into how the table has been flipped, instead of governments forcing change on businesses, it’s the business themselves who are asking for the right environment to invest in this transition. It’s easy for the public to forget that behind businesses are real people, many of which legitimately want to change – but not everyone can give the company away like Patagonia has done.

Solutions, solutions, solutions!

Through stories of basil farms, renewable power, insulation and nuclear fusion, Tom gave us a look at some of the potential forward-facing solutions that are likely to become a part of your daily life – some already could be.

Almost all the ground in the world is used to feed the nearly 8 billion humans in the world, and Tom speaks of a farming revolution that may free up vast amounts of land to become natural carbon-sinks once again.

Ultimately, with unlimited, renewable energy, the possibilities are endless.

You can watch the session in full here.