Gary Haq: We need to put the sizzle back into going green

Back in 2007, at the peak of our eco-awareness, climate change and the carbon footprint seemed new and interesting. There was unprecedented media coverage of green issues and the public, politicians and business leaders were all developing a passion for the planet.

Despite Prince Charles's recent green tour of Britain on his bio-fuelled royal train, there are signs of "green fatigue" setting in as political, public and media interest in environmental issues begins to wane. The coalition Government's decision to get rid of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the independent watchdog, the Sustainable Development Commission, clearly signalled the downgrading of environmental issues.

This is despite David Cameron's promise to put the environment at the heart of government. Former chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, Jonathan Porritt, described the decision as "crass, unfounded, self-defeating and ideologically-motivated".

The climategate and glaciergate fiasco has increased public scepticism over climate change science. A recent Ipsos Mori survey of public attitudes to climate change found that although the majority of respondents believe that climate change is happening, levels of concern have fallen since 2005, and less than one-third of the population currently consider it to be a purely man-made phenomenon. However, most people consider that it is their responsibility to take action and feel that they personally can make a difference.

The waxing and waning of public interest in environmental issues is nothing new. In 1967, Britain experienced its first major oil disaster when the oil tanker, Torrey Canyon, struck a rock, causing the oil pollution of 120 miles of the Cornish coastline.

Dramatic environmental disasters such as this, together with key publications on the ecological limits to economic growth, increased public concern.

By 1972, environmental issues were placed on the international political agenda when nations gathered together for the first UN Earth Summit in Stockholm. It resulted in governments establishing ministries of the environment and introducing environmental legislation.

Although the 1970s' oil price rises dampened public interest in green issues, a decade later interest was renewed by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, a rise in green consumerism, ethical investment and increased activity of Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. In 1992, the Rio Earth Summit ensured that world leaders embraced the idea of sustainable development and initiated action for a global convention on climate change.

When we are doing well, we are motivated to go green but during an economic downturn we tend to lose interest. It is therefore not surprising that in this new age of austerity we are starting to suffer from green fatigue.

In an economic recession consumers tighten their belts, sales figures fall and companies close down and stop producing polluting emissions. For example, in 2009, EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by seven per cent. A lower demand for energy has been linked to the economic recession as well as cheaper natural gas and increased renewable energy use.

Nowadays most people are familiar with the concept of the carbon footprint. Unfortunately, being aware of the environmental impact of our individual lifestyle choices does not necessarily mean we will change our behaviour. After all, we know that smoking can cause lung cancer, eating junk food can lead to heart disease and obesity and binge drinking is bad for the liver, but we still carry on regardless.

For too long, green campaigns have sold the threat of what would happen if we do not mend our ways. The danger of a "climate hell" has caused some people to switch off.

Back in the 1940s, US salesman, Elmer Wheeler, advised businesses on his "Don't sell the sausage, sell the sizzle!" marketing approach. Wheeler's big secret to successful selling was that you do not advertise the sausage itself as it is the desirable sounds and smells of the "sizzle" that make people hungry and want to buy it. There is increasing recognition that the "selling the sausage" approach to green issues is not delivering the fundamental changes required for us to stay within ecological limits.

So far, environmentalists have failed to effectively communicate a compelling vision of a greener future. According to Futerra, a green communications consultancy, if we are to reinvigorate public and media interest, campaigns need to focus on a vision of a greener life that is positive and appealing to all.

It is therefore time to stop selling the notion of a climate hell and start selling a "green heaven". Let's put the sizzle back in to going green and demonstrate that a transition to a low carbon society ultimately means a better quality of life for everyone.

Dr Gary Haq is a Human Ecologist at the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York