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… When someone asks you about “the David Attenborough climate documentary”…..

Tonight (Thursday April 18th) at 9pm UK time, BBC1 will air the definitive documentary about climate change presented by Sir David Attenborough.   If it has a fraction of the impact Blue Planet had on our attitude to single-use plastics, it will start a lot of conversations about climate change.

As one of the Carbon Literate, we want to equip you to make the best use of these chats, because once the “climate change penny drops”, people want to know what to do, and you’re in a great position to help, so we’re giving you some specific suggestions below.

By way of context, “There’s something going on.”

Here at Carbon Literacy HQ we are hard pressed to remember a more extraordinary week of climate news. Not just the third School Climate Strike last Friday or the on-going unprecedented Extinction Rebellion civil disobedience in London and other cities, but within the heart of ‘the old establishment’ too.

The world’s largest investment management company, BlackRock, this week told their investors that they must “up their game” to recognise the extreme risks they face from climate change. The largest pension-fund manager in the UK; Legal & General this week stated that climate is the top of the list of concerns they have about the way companies are run.

Increasing numbers of pension fund trustees are seeking assurances that their employees’ retirement contributions are not finding their way into embarrassing or inappropriate investments. The Bank of England, recently warned that $20tn (£15.3tn) of assets could be wiped out by climate change. And this week not one but two central banks (both the Bank of England and the central bank of France ) jointly told the world’s financial sector that the risks inherent in climate change have to be taken seriously. “If some companies and industries fail to adjust to this new world, they will fail to exist,” they wrote.

Whether you identify most with the ‘eco rebels’ or the besuited kings and queens of industry – or indeed with Sir David: the call to urgent action on climate action cannot be ignored any longer.

So – What can YOU do?

As one of the thousands already Carbon Literate, or as someone interested in Carbon Literacy, over the next few days, you are ideally placed to turn the interest in tonight’s programme into action.

If you come across a conversation about the programme, real or online, could you contribute by pointing out ‘doing something about it is easy’?  If you don’t happen across such a conversation, could you start one?  We turned to the national climate change research centre of excellence; The Tyndall Centre, for six handy actions for you; in summary and with some notes.

None of the actions are difficult, they are all significant, and most will leave you happier and with a better quality of life too…

If only one of us does something, it makes a difference. But if a whole army of us do something, it’s a great expression of the power of our Carbon Literacy in making a safer future for our children.

If you do have a climate change conversation we’d love to hear about it via the We Are Carbon Literate Facebook Group.

NOTE: The Tyndall Centre mention USwitch as a good route to a green energy tariff.  Another great route is via Big Clean Switch who are also certified as a Bcorp.