Jacqueline Bourne's Letter

To Ollie, Emily and Jessica my great nephew and nieces,

I write at a precarious time. We stand on the brink of climate and ecological disaster. In some regions of the world, this is already happening. In the Horn of Africa, millions of people are facing famine, crops have failed, and animals are dying. This is because of climate change caused by the raised levels of greenhouse gases which humanity has added to the atmosphere.
Until now, the giants of the fossil fuel industries have had their way. They've had a hold on the governments of this world, money has flowed both ways. Most governments of the western world have not had the wisdom to plan ahead and heed the warnings that the scientists have been giving for many years. Homes should have been insulated. New homes should have been legally required to have a green energy system in place. Protected areas for nature should have been established long ago on a far wider scale on land and at sea.
These measures which would have prevented fuel crisis and poverty for most, did not happen.

There is hope, though. There are many wise people and many fantastic things happening all over the globe, and now we have what we must believe is a wise leader in charge of the current government. There is talk of insulating homes now and I hope there will be legislation for new builds which the government was supposed to implement several years ago before they retracted, a very bad decision it was. I hear that there is now investment in wave hub technology. We need to hear now that they will definitely not back further drilling for oil anywhere and they will hold firm to the new level of taxation of fossil fuel profits, and not be bullied by the oil and gas companies. Above all, if they work closely with the NGOs and be guided by them for everything practical that needs doing, I believe we can see some real improvements here in the UK within a few years.

So, as you grow, I'm sure you're going to find a new normality consisting of 100% green power, warm homes, increased wildlife and clean oceans with vast, protected areas for wildlife to thrive in. The planet will still be warm, but the warming trend will have stabilised and the millions of trees which will have been planted here and around the world will be growing nicely and absorbing CO2. The wealthy countries will have helped the developing countries to get on top of their methane emissions problem and the destruction of primary forests around the world will have stopped.

We have a lot to do! It must be done, for you. The wise leaders will understand, because they also have children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Much love, Great Auntie Jacqui xxx