In the UK, this ‘change in climate in every region’ means water stress, overheating and flood risk. It probably means significant impact on food supply, and even now a need to address poor air quality caused by use of fossil fuels. More, and more frequent, extreme weather events mean that we have to consider not only how to keep homes warm, but how to keep them cool.

And, crucially, at a time when social landlords have never faced tighter budgets, we must find a way of doing this that we can afford and that delivers value for money.

At SHIFT, we firmly believe that applying sustainability standards to the UK’s existing building stock doesn’t mean having to choose between the bottom line, the quality of build or the planet.

More than that, we’re keen to talk about the reality of CC, what it means to each of us as individuals. I don’t think it helps the argument – or prompts that wider discussion we saw around the IPCC report – to talk about polar bears clinging to the last ice floe. Our polar bears matters very much, of course, but they don’t deliver the buy-in we need from everyone, from policymakers to those who would very much like to have a warm, dry home.

To do this, and particularly to get enthusiasm from householders for retrofit measures that can be very disruptive to daily life in the short term, we need to talk about the specifics. What exactly can we do to make a difference both to our everyday lives and to the climate as a whole? What’s the tangible pay-off for months, perhaps a year or so, of refurbishment works?

It’s clearly cheaper for St Leger Homes and its parent council to invest in flood protection for its residents rather than help them clear up every two years.

In the housing sector, however, we have a huge positive. We can do our baseline assessments at the local level where we have control and can really change things. We can look at targets and impact, and base a constructive and powerful strategy on that work that will change both individual lives and the wider impact of those lives on the environment. For ALMOs, interlinked with local government and their responsibility for cleaner air, local jobs and alleviating environmental impact, it’s a no brainer.

And compared to the cost of doing nothing, it’s cheap. We’ve had hard proof of that ever since the Stern Review published its report on the economics of climate change 15 years ago. It’s clearly cheaper for St Leger Homes and its parent council to invest in flood protection for its residents rather than help them clear up every two years.

I am optimistic. There are big commitments in the government’s manifesto that suggest they are taking the cost of doing nothing seriously. While the £3.8 billion so far promised for the ‘greening‘ of housing is not enough, it is still a lot of money and a clear signal that they mean business. Even more encouraging is a sense of coherence in policy across sectors and ministries, all of them making an effort to consider climate change in each project and initiative.

Perhaps most encouraging of all, banks are on board. After the credit crunch, when the public perception was of government bailing out the wealthy people who had done such a bad job of running our financial institutions, banks have begun to realise that social purpose must be built into what they do. They have also realised that this is as good for their stakeholders as it is for society as a whole.

They have been driven to get on board and they will do what they do best – stream the money needed to adapt to climate change into the system. After all, money isn’t biology or chemistry. Ultimately, money is a concept that expresses trust and faith in an economy, a society, and its future.

So, yes, I believe the money can be found to make net-zero carbon happen. In fact, it must be found.

Everything that helps communicates how urgent this is – Greta, Extinction Rebellion, the Paris Climate Accords and the looming Glasgow conference – suggests we are seeing a real turning point here. There are lots of clever ways that landlords can leverage this sense of change to develop long-term strategies, trial new techs, lead on new approaches.

In fact, modern social landlords are the natural innovators in this field because they are obliged to take the long view. Build it cheap and run away isn’t going to work for them; they know that 20 or 30 years down the line, they’ll still be managing these homes.

My vision is of them leading the way on this work, showing the volume builders in the private sector not only what should be done, but how it should be done.