What started as a peripheral worry has now escalated into one of the most – if not the most – pressing problem we face. In a twist of dark irony, the initial warnings were largely buried under media coverage of the very issues that created it – the disruption of Covid-19, the political tension and subsequent invasion of Ukraine by Russia, inflation, and the ongoing uncertainty caused by our reliance on dwindling and damaging fossil fuels.

If you feel like the media is talking about climate change more than ever, then you’re not alone. The sheer scope of articles coming out on such a wide array of topics, all covered by the dark cloud of climate change, is staggering, even to those who have been clued into the true severity of the ongoing crisis for a long time already.

Despite the better efforts of many organisations and individuals around the country, the energy crisis is continuing to intensify and bear down on countless households and businesses. Just last week, the country’s energy bosses warned MPs that fuel poverty – or, in other words, the inability to afford to heat and light one’s home – could impact as much as 40% of the population come winter.

Signs of the climate crisis are closing in. More than ever before – not to mention faster than ever before – the general public is coming round to the idea that the earth really is entering into a state of true peril, and that change is not happening fast enough.

Since late February, the eyes of the world have been trained on Ukraine. What started as a palpable tension – a political arm wrestle between President Vladimir Putin and a perceived threat from the former soviet republic – escalated throughout the early months of 2022 and culminated in a full-scale invasion. The largest of its kind within Europe since World War II.

So often, sustainability discussions centre on some of the most basic topics imaginable. The basic elements of water, air, fire and earth – our ability to eat – and, ultimately, survival. The survival of animals, plants, of the planet and, of course, the human race.

Calls for action are reaching a boiling point. COP26 aside, the closing months of 2021 – and of one momentously taxing period for the global population – have brought a renewed sense of urgency to the table, and an undeniable sense that the final curtain is preparing to draw itself across our hope for a healthier, safer future. 

It comes as a stark warning after almost two years’ worth of disruptions, complications and setbacks: an impending increase as high as 30% to our household energy bills on the cards for millions across the country.

While the anticipated time of arrival for this price hike remains somewhat vague – many reports see the spring of 2022 on the horizon – it feels even more immediate in light of the fact that wholesale gas prices have already skyrocketed, and led to the immediate collapse of a number of smaller energy firms.  The volatility is set to continue, with more energy suppliers at risk – and, of course, many more households being pushed to the edge by the devastatingly high cost of power and heat.

It has been little over a week since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its pivotal report on the true extent of global climate change. All at once, the panel’s findings were both predictable and shocking; a stark look at what we all knew was coming, and outcomes that seemed, for the past few years, to be far more remote than they really are.