It takes as long as it takes

Coming around to the idea that literally everything can have an impact on the climate – that can take a minute.

It’s not everyone’s calling to fix the climate.

But there will be times in our lives where we’ll have to make a decision that, whether we’re aware of it or not, will be a climate decision.

Simple example: Several people in my circle of friends and family have said their next car will be electric (myself included).

On the bell curve we fall somewhere in the middle – certainly not early adopters, but also far too early to be laggards.

Australia’s target is that 100% of new cars sold by 2035 will be electric.

The laggards will only be buying their first EVs around then, so it’s entirely possible that a laggard of 2035 will buy one or several new petrol cars before then.

With a target like that, each of those purchases becomes a climate decision.

There are still lots of justifications for sticking with petrol – more buying options, cheaper outright purchase prices, bigger second-hand market, existing infrastructure, etc.

If the climate part of the decision is on their mind, any of the above justifications will make a reasonable argument for ignoring the climate part. It’s a complex shift in thinking.

Being a laggard is not a negative thing despite it kinda sounding like name-calling. Folks need to come to their own conclusions, and it just takes as long as it takes.