Contact us, & How you can help

Contact us

If you have any questions or comments, would like to know more, or are interested in helping to spread the word in your own country, then please get in touch. As a first step, contact Brian Davey, who is the Coordinator of Cap & Share UK:

 

What can you do?

In the UK, much of our work so far has been getting the idea of Cap & Share into the relevant policy debates by talking to government officials and ministers, civil servants in DECC, academic researchers, and other NGOs. If you're in any of these areas then we'd love to hear from you.

We would also like to get Cap & Share better known by the general public, and this is where anyone can help. And we need to push the politicians into acting, which is another area where anyone can help. The things you can do to help are listed below under the following headings: Push for action; Help spread the word; Donate.

 

Push for action

Cap & Share is a great system in many ways, but it won't happen by itself. We need to make it happen.

Faced with a huge global problem like climate change, it is natural to ask, "What can I do, as an individual?" The answer to this given by many campaigns is, "Do your bit" - reduce your own carbon footprint, etc. Well, individual commitments by people and by organisations are empowering; they set a wonderful example and can help mobilise support - the 10:10 campaign in the UK is a very good example. But of course a collective effort will be needed in the end - you can't save the world on your own, and your efforts will be futile unless everyone else plays their part too. And anyway, it's a shared problem and we should be tackling it together.

So we can each do our bit, but the government has to do its bit too. Only the government can bring in an effective carbon cap. A cap needs to be legally enforced, otherwise it will be undermined by free riders - people who try to get away with not paying their contribution. That's why paying income tax isn't voluntary. (And of course, even action by a whole nation is not enough, which is why we need strong international agreements).

What this means is that we need to work together here, and push for strong action by governments. And that means getting political, even in small ways like writing to your MP. Tell your MP about Cap & Share, and more generally ask (or tell) them on your behalf to stand up to vested interests, to reject the greenwash, and to push for real leadership on climate change. (We aim to put some suggested bits of text here shortly for you to use, but actually you don't need to be spoon-fed, do you? Put into your own words what you feel most strongly about). And in local situations (transition towns, local environmental groups, churches, whatever), push the message up to higher levels too. Support groups such as the 'Stop Climate Chaos' coalition.

 

Help spread the word

We need to make Cap & Share more widely known, so that everyone realises that there are simple, fair and effective ways ready and waiting to tackle climate change. Everyone needs to know that systems like Cap & Share exist, which have a positive feel to them - all too often, climate change is framed in terms of costing money or asking people to make sacrifices. We will have to change our ways of doing things, but we have done this many times in the past. It's an exciting future out there, a transition point in history when humanity is finally coming up against the limits of living on one planet, and people are finding they will have to work together to tackle problems common to all mankind. Be part of this!

We need to decide to take action together to avert catastrophic climate change, and the particular message of Cap & Share is that once we make that decision, finding a way to do it will not be a problem.

How to spread the word? Please feel free to print out and adapt the flyers and other material (such as the Powerpoint slides) in the Resources Section of this website. If you find any of these less than helpful for any reason, please let us know!

Handing out material or talking to people on a one-to-one basis is personal, but can get lonely and you might feel that you are making slow progress. A good way to supplement this is to organise a talk in your area. Cap & Share can send a speaker, who will be happy to give an illustrated (and hopefully lively and upbeat) talk, either to a local group with an interest in the environment (e.g. a Transition group), or to an ad-hoc meeting you organise. Just get in touch with us by email.

If you're feeling more ambitious, you can even organise a mini-conference in your area, with speakers and stalls from several different groups. The recent conference in Winchester is an example of a recent conference, but your event can be a lot smaller and simpler than this. Cap & Share may be able to help with contributions towards the cost. Again, just get in touch.

 

Donate

We are still a small group, and have managed so far on some generous donations from individuals, and some generous grants from a couple of foundations. We have not been actively seeking donations - but every little helps. Please contact us if you support what we are trying to do.

Thank you!