CEO Martin Harper looks ahead to 2024 with hope, optimism and confidence.

2024 is a super year for elections: a chance to shape the future we want and nature needs.

During the holiday season, my son and I went hill climbing in atrocious conditions. Storm Gerrit had hit England, but we were determined to walk and so we did.  The birds had rightly taken cover and so to keep us going, we discussed the essay on which he was working as part of his philosophy course at university: to what extent is the State or the individual responsible for tackling climate change.  The backdrop, other than the blasted fells that we trudged across, were the elections taking place in 2024 in more than 64 countries.

Moral and ethical considerations aside, governments and individuals clearly have the power to affect environmental change in different ways.  Only governments can sign international agreements, make laws, incentivise good or penalise bad behaviour while individuals have a role through consumption and, in free societies, through campaigning and voting.  In fair elections, we end up with the governments and leaders that we, collectively, have chosen.  This is the “power of the people” that democracy (which comes from the Greek words “demos”, meaning people, and “kratos” meaning power) promises.

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https://www.birdlife.org/news/2024/01/05/a-look-ahead-to-2024-a-chance-to-shape-the-future/