Lawyer Monthly Magazine - April 2019 Edition

Whether you are going to Trump this one out and state you don’t believe it, many scientists and experts have churned out their days and nights into trying to find out what is causing the potentially drastic changes in our climate. A rise in sea level, hotter temperatures, shrinking ice sheets and warmer oceans are all signs; whisk together water pollution and the masses of plastic and waste that are superglued into the depths of our soil and reefs, and we have cooked up a very toxic concoction. With experts stating that it is likely that the increase of violent hurricanes and parching droughts that will occur and have since occurred ‘can be attributed to human activities 1 ’, it doesn’t really throw us off our seats when societies and their governments are trying to find new ways to keep climate change at bay. AFTER ALL, THERE IS NO PLAN B, IS THERE? This is just the tip of the iceberg, with Europa 2 stating that each person in the EU generates 31kg plastic per year, which thus results in a sheer mass of 15.8 million tonnes of plastic packaging waste generated in a single year. And if we are thinking of ways to reduce our waste, we ought to be considering what big corporations are doing to shrink their carbon footprint, because, at the end of the day, they do account towards 25% of the waste generated in England 3 . Morality and planetary benefits aside, corporations could also benefit financially by reducing their carbon footprint; solar panels and renewable energy costs are decreasing, thus making them a cheaper option, and, with the younger generation being more environmentally cautious, being sustainable - which sells the company well when considering marketing initiatives-, works to your favour, especially when 87% of consumers have a more positive image of a company that supports social or environmental issues 4 . WHAT ARE THE CURRENT LAWS? Aside from the regulations, such as the expected ‘you will need a permit for exhuming excessive air pollution into the precious ozone layer’ and ‘make sure your chemicals and are not too corrosive and meet requirements’, there have been initiatives implemented to help push businesses to be kinder to mother earth. WE CAN’T ESCAPE IT. It is the 21st century, real-life version of the impending apocalypse. Climate change. Written By Jaya Harrar ARE BUSINESSES READY FORCLIMATECHANGE?