SINCE August 2017, just one year ago, two numbers have continued to increase – the size of the world population, us, and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This isn’t surprising as every person’s behaviour must produce CO2 and as we become more affluent we each generate even more and more.

Every year the world population is increasing by around 80 million people, so adding another Germany, or Iran, or Turkey every twelve months. This is 220,000 people, about the number in Keighley plus Huddersfield, every day somewhere in the world – more than a million each week. It’s made even more threatening as the current economic systems mean we will all want to own our family home, drive a large car and fly away on holiday.

We might have a chance of reducing the amount of atmospheric CO2, which was only 316 parts per million (ppm) in 1959 if there were fewer of us. In June this year it was 410, up two on the 408 of just 12 months before. However if we intend to stop the temperature increasing our lifestyles should only be producing about 350 parts per million at the most.

Perhaps there are signs that folk in general are beginning to accept climate change, at least theoretically, and it’s because they don’t like wild fires, long droughts, torrential rain storms, flooding and their houses falling into the rising sea. 2018 has been an exceptional year for all of the above and the key factor is what folk do next.

It’s so important for everyone to realise that these changes that they find threatening are because of their own behaviour and habits and desires. Each individual has the choice to tailor their lifestyle to reduce the amount of CO2 they are responsible for, and they should not leave it to others to change.

This means you, not them.