Climate change: Switch to net-zero carbon economy will make life cleaner, quieter and more pleasant – Scotsman comment

27 days to Cop26: Discussions about climate change can sometimes seem relentlessly bleak.

Schoolchildren cover their faces amid heavy smog in New Delhi, the world's most polluted capital (Picture: Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)

There are those who exhort humanity to don hair-shirts and forgo life’s material pleasures, warning that if we do not then the world as we know it will come to an end. If we fail to take swift action to limit carbon emissions, this is a strategy that we may have to take but we’re not quite there yet.

And the current Industrial Revolution – driven by the need to reduce emissions to net-zero – does bring a number of significant benefits.

For example, the switch from fossil fuels to renewable electricity will mean dramatic reductions in air pollution.

It has been estimated that the lives of about 2,000 people a year in Scotland are cut short prematurely because of the air we all breathe.

And many with lung conditions should asthma may feel the benefit as the air gradually clears of tiny, lung-irritating particles.

City residents near busy roads will notice less and less black dust accumulates on window sills or dirties newly washed clothes hung out to dry for too long in the garden.

And the noise of the passing traffic will be turned down as combustion engines are replaced by the soft hum of electric alternatives. During the early days of Covid lockdown, the relative silence of the city – together with the sound of renewed and invigorated birdsong – was one of the few joys of that troubled time.

As our way of life changes to become less polluting, cleaner and quieter, life should, slowly but surely, feel more pleasant in a most natural way.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.