Will we stop climate change in time? This question, posed to me by a group of students nearly nine years ago, remains as relevant today as it was then. At the current pace of change, the answer is no.
However, there is hope. Change is rarely linear; it is often exponential. With enough people pushing in the right direction, significant progress can be made against climate change.
The Power of Education: A Call To Action
I explained that if, as students, they can learn what society needs to do to decarbonise, and then share that knowledge with their parents, they can help accelerate the pace of combat against climate change.
With two billion young people in the world, each one needs only to persuade just three adults, and we can change society fast enough. This approach is why we think educating and empowering our children is key to stopping climate change.
I urge everyone to consider what small actions they can take to push the needle further and accelerate the pace of change.
Joanna Singleton, a Year 8 student at St Christopher’s CE High School said: “A lot of people just don’t realise what issues there are, so we need to raise awareness that the planet is being destroyed, temperatures are rising, ice caps melting, and much more. And we need to let people know about the changes that they can make to help.”
Funding Sustainability Education
To support this education, we developed a means to fund it by installing solar panels on schools. This initiative not only harnesses the sun to fund education, but the solar also serves as a practical learning tool and an example of how to achieve sustainability.
In the UK, the Government could fund sustainability education in schools relatively easily with various motions, such as those led by Lord Jim Knight that advocate for its inclusion in the curriculum. However, many parts of the world struggle to teach basic subjects like maths and literacy, let alone climate change, energy and decarbonisation. By funding solar panels on school buildings, we can deliver this crucial education globally.
Overcoming Bureaucratic Challenges
We built a software platform and a funding mechanism to facilitate this process by bringing funders, installers, and schools together to go solar – enabling us to deliver decarbonisation education. Yet despite the technical and financial feasibility, bureaucratic challenges have limited our progress to about 250 schools in the UK over nearly nine years.
The process involves persuading numerous stakeholders, from headteachers to local authorities, making it incredibly slow. It takes 20 people to install solar panels on a school: One person to install the solar panels and 19 to get out of the way. A sad but rather true joke.
The current process requires convincing each headteacher that installing solar panels is beneficial, cost-free, and provides educational resources. Despite the clear advantages, the bureaucratic hurdles remain significant. Schools enter into a finance agreement with a society of schools, joining a club – run by the schools themselves –that manages these systems.
To make these projects viable, we raise funds from individuals, parents, and contributors, and through grants – for example, school grants totalling £2.7 million across five years from National Grid Electricity Distribution.
The Potential of Solar Power
The UK has the potential to install about two gigawatts of solar power across its educational estate, requiring around £2 billion in funding. This investment could save between £2 billion and £6 billion in electricity costs over the next 25 years, after covering all maintenance and funding costs. Furthermore, the funding could be raised from the private sector if needed, enabling individuals and the local community to invest in these projects safely, and without imposing a burden on taxpayers.
For Politicians
For politicians, this means examining and simplifying the processes involved in implementing sustainable solutions and climate change prevention strategies.
Many departments have started, but much more is still needed. MPs should look at their constituencies to identify opportunities for solar installations on public buildings and, in particular, schools, and Solar for Schools can help with this.
In addition to saving money and reducing carbon emissions, installing solar will also inspire young people and empower them to contribute to the battle against climate change.
For Companies
Companies can also play a role by funding projects that need a financial boost, similar to the support provided by National Grid Electricity Distribution, which provides grants when needed to enable solar to happen when it would otherwise not be commercially viable.
For Individuals
Finally, as individuals, we can make a difference by choosing where to invest our money. Many of us keep our money in banks that fund the status quo, but we can move our funds to banks that support decarbonisation efforts.
Triodos Bank works hard in numerous decarbonisation efforts aimed at tacklong climate change, such as solar on schools, and there are over 300 community energy groups across the country working to deploy solar power on suitable buildings. Join one of these groups to fund solar locally, or join the Solar for Schools Community Benefit Society – a not for profit entity funding solar on schools across the country by offering five-year 5.5 per cent interest-bearing bonds.
Further details can be found at www.solarforschoolscbs.org.uk and there’s also a short video about how the solar itself engages and empowers students as a learning opportunity.
Final Thought
Ultimately, we must all consider how we will answer the question posed by future generations, “What did you do to stop climate change?” I encourage you to work on the answer.
Robert Schrimpff
DesignationCo-founder and CEO of Solar for Schools
