Carbon Neutral vs. Carbon Capture??
Net Zero vs. Zero Carbon??
What does all this climate jargon mean!!?
McDonald’s have launched a new FREE guide designed to help it's customers understand the most confusing climate change terminology. It comes after new research by McDonald’s reveals nearly two thirds of people (60%) think the amount of jargon being used to describe climate change is increasing, while almost one in five (19%) say they’d be more likely to do something to protect the environment if simpler, less confusing language was used. Over a third (37%) of people switch off when they hear or read jargon used around sustainability and the environment. According to the research, most people (91%) have heard of the term ‘Zero Carbon’ but 23% don’t know what it means and over half (52%) have never heard of the term climate resilience. Confusion across the dinner table With the environment being a big focus in schools, 39% of parents say they are often asked to explain words around sustainability and the environment that they’re not fully able to answer, while 60% said they wished they knew more about sustainability to be better able to educate their children. 51% of people believe their family would engage much more in the climate challenge if the language used was simpler to understand. 75% of people would like to understand more about issues around sustainability and the environment.
Available to download from the McDonald’s website, The Climate Clarity Guide has been developed in partnership with experts to provide simple explanations for some of the most complicated language and misunderstood terms. It includes Ireland’s top 15 most confusing terms - including biodiversity, decarbonisation, food sovereignty and regenerative agriculture. The new guide supports McDonald’s recently launched new climate commitments – Plan for Change, which sets out its aim of net zero emissions across its entire UK & Ireland business by 2040. The Climate Clarity Guide is one of the ways McDonald’s is helping its customers do more to help look after the planet, because the more people understand, the more they can do to help.
Beth Hart, VP for Supply Chain and Brand Trust at McDonald’s, said: “We all know that we need to do more to look after each other and our planet. Talking about climate change in simple terms might seem like something small, but it can make a big difference. Rightly, there is a lot of talk about the environment and sustainability - but with so much complicated language it’s easy for people to switch off. We hope The Climate Clarity Guide will help people to feel more comfortable talking about climate change.” The Climate Clarity Guide was developed in partnership with Duncan Williamson, former Head of Food at the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Compassion in World Farming to provide clear explanations for the most misunderstood terms. The 15 climate terms people in Ireland said they find the most confusing are:
1. Biodiversity 2. Carbon capture 3. Carbon offsetting 4. Climate resilience 5. Carbon neutrality 6. Decarbonisation 7. Food sovereignty 8. Greenwashing 9. Nature-based solutions 10. Net zero 11. Regenerative agriculture 12. Science-based targets 13. Scope 1,2,3 carbon emissions 14. Sustainable agriculture 15. Zero carbon Quantitative Research carried out by Amaìrach Research between 10th-17th September 2021 to 1,000 members of the general public.
Slán go fóill,
Danny