Individually, it can often seem our actions have only a limited effect. Think of recycling for example. Can an individual or household really make a difference by taking recycling seriously? Well, reassuringly, the answer is yes. Recycling efforts in the UK for example have reduced annual carbon emissions by between 10 and 15 million tonnes4. This is equivalent to 10% of transport related emissions.
Or taking 3.5 millions cars off the road. Individually the evidence shows that if we take things personally, we can all make a difference. This includes central banks themselves, which I will come back to later. It really has been wonderful to meet so many people at today’s conference who indeed take climate change personally and take that individual responsibility seriously.