Just a month ago, the United Nations annual climate negotiations were kicking off in Poland. The primary goal of this 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) was to set in stone a ‘rule book’ for international climate action under the Paris Agreement. How are we, as a global community, going to limit the rise in global temperatures to well below 2°C above the pre-industrial era? In particular, how will we ensure that the more ambitious target of 1.5°C is not breached?

A few months earlier, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had published a special report on the issue of 1.5 °C. This report considered more than 6000 scientific papers, an enormous task involving hundreds of authors and thousands of expert reviewers all around the world. It’s the most authoritative analysis of the available science, and it was a major talking point at COP24. The messages here are clear: global temperature has already warmed by 1°C over the past century and a half, and it will continue to warm as our carbon emissions continue. We are already experiencing the impacts of warming, and every bit of extra warming will matter. Risks to human health, livelihoods, food security, water supplies, human security, economic growth, not to mention ecosystems and the environment, will be worse at 1.5°C and worse again at 2°C. We’re currently on course for at least 3°C warming by the end of this current century, so we must act.

Staying below 1.5°C would avoid the worst of these risks, but to have a chance of achieving this emissions reductions need to begin immediately on a global scale. Watching activities unfold at COP24, I was overwhelmed with anxiety. Levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere continue to rise year on year, and with so many global players and differing political views, can we really expect a sweeping victory for climate action that will be sufficiently fast working to make the changes that we need? I hope so, but we should not be waiting, we should all be acting now.

A recent publication by scientists at the University of Oxford has shown that cutting meat and dairy products from our diet could reduce our carbon footprint from food by up to 73%. It’s the single biggest thing that we can do as individuals to reduce carbon emissions.

Kitchen 1.5 was born out of this need for individual action. We believe that the actions of individuals can make an enormous difference, and changing our diets is an easy and fun way to do that. Come on a journey with us, and we hope that we can learn from you too so please share your ideas, thoughts, and most especially any concerns.