Top Takeaways from Chris Packham, Dr Mya-Rose Craig and Juergen Maier CBE

Chris Packham CBE opened by asking why the climate crisis, which has not gone anywhere, has slipped so far down the political agenda, and put the question to ornithologist and campaigner Dr Mya-Rose Craig and to Juergen Maier, the former Siemens UK chief who now chairs Great British Energy. The three approached it from activism, industry and public broadcasting respectively, and did not always agree on how much patience the situation could afford.

Top Takeaways from the panel

On how we can all make a difference
“People worry that they can’t make change because they’re a drop in the ocean. But a body of water only exists as a multitude of drops. We’re not living through climate change, we’re living through climate breakdown.” – Chris Packham

“Environmental issues are human issues. No matter where you live, you deserve to be able to sit under a nice tree.” – Dr Mya-Rose Craig

On whether making a change should be led by politics or business
“I’m passionate about building a bridge between business and politics. We won’t find solutions by throwing stones at each other.” – Juergen Maier CBE

On net zero
“At the moment there is a raft of misinformation and disinformation that people are served by the vile right wing press.” – Chris

On green energy
“We are actually doing a good job in this country at building green industries. The trick will be to balance that with the industries that will decline as a result of the green revolution.”
“If someone says the future is fossil fuels, I won’t engage with them, it makes no sense. The future is renewable energy and how we transition to it. – Juergen

On environmentalism
“Communication in terms of environmentalism has failed for a long time. There have been too many statistics. We need to talk about how it affects food prices and flooding and people’s real lives.” – Mya

Further Reading

• Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future, Mya-Rose Craig (Jonathan Cape, 2022). Link
• We Have a Dream: Meet 30 Young Indigenous People and People of Colour Protecting the Planet, Mya-Rose Craig (Magic Cat, 2021). Link
• Fingers in the Sparkle Jar, Chris Packham (Ebury, 2016). Link
• Back to Nature: How to Love Life and Save It, Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin (Two Roads, 2020). Link
• Made Smarter Review, Juergen Maier for the UK government (2017). Link

Further Listening and Watching

• Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law?, Channel 4, 2023. Link
• Earth with Chris Packham, BBC Two, 2023, BBC iPlayer. Link
• Climate Change: The Facts, BBC One, 2019, David Attenborough. Link
• Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. Link
• The Climate Question, BBC World Service podcast, BBC Sounds. Link

Further Help

• Leeds Climate Commission, local action plan and events. Link
• Climate Psychology Alliance, support for climate anxiety and grief. Link
• Black2Nature, Mya-Rose Craig’s charity, connecting young people from visible minority ethnic backgrounds with nature. Link
• Friends of the Earth, UK campaigning and local groups. Link