Inclusive Sustainability Transition

Carbon Tunnel Vision — a topic that I have discussed earlier. Very apt graphic in the run up to the COP27 summit that starts in a few days in Egypt.

For the past 3 years most of my professional life has been in solving the problem of carbon emissions, and would like to start with a full disclosure that I am also party to this carbon tunnel vision. A true sustainability transition has to include far more elements than just the carbon emissions and climate change mitigation solutions. I define this as inclusive energy transition, without which the transition doesn’t make a lot of sense. Flying electric planes and driving super expensive electric cars, and eating lab processed and again expensive vegan meat can definitely satisfy the conscience of the few elites; but these are in no way inclusive in nature.

I have covered a number of topics around inclusive energy transition in the past (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sustainability-solid-ground-safe-hands-santosh-k-gurunath/), and will not focus about the definitions and the solutions talked before. In this article, I will be covering a more wholistic approach to the entire subject of inclusive energy transition, and what could be done to achieve that.

Redefining Capitalism

The first and the foremost priority has to be a complete overhaul in the way capitalism operates. This includes the fundamental principles of the the open market, the core mentality of the market actors, a move away from the approach where growth and margins at all costs. The new approach has to include the “blind-sided” elements included in the graphic.

• Bio-diversity
• Poverty
• Inequality
• Resource scarcity
• Air and water pollution

There are several other factors such as equitable growth, sustainable supply chains, mental health among others that should be taken into consideration. The concept of shareholder value on basis of which most of the corporations function and optimize has to be transformed into something more holistic in nature.

Rediscovering Growth

We are attuned to be thinking in a growth mindset framework. Right from childhool through university, there is a push to grow faster, better and stronger. It is all about growth and competition. In the corporate world, the most important metric is growth, even at cost of cash burn and profitability. Even in matured organizations, the incentives are all based on growth. This has to change.

Growth is not bad, in fact without that we as humans wouldn’t have reached where we are right now. In the past, it was however a curious growth — trying to identify the unknown, test the unchartered territory and grow to a new state. Up until a few hundred years back, this was never defined by accumalation of wealth. We need to rediscover and take a step back, and assess what kind of growh actually contributed to our development. And which of those development areas actually matter in the current age.

Growth at the cost of everything else around us is not only unsustainable, but it just doesn’t make any sense. We have an existence of 80–90 years on this planet, and end of exploiting resources that has impact for 1000s of years to come. There has to be some sort of a shift in mindset that encompasses multiple facets of growth.

Recognize Suffering

We seem to have lost the sense of compassion and love that was taught to us over eons when we were hunters and gatherers in small tribes and communities. The concept of taking care of each other, recognizing and solving for other’s sufferings has been in our species for way too long. Only in the past several hundred years, we seem to have become extremely polarized to the point that we seem to have forgotten that basic tenets of care and compassion have been instrumental in the existence of ourselves.

We are being taught more and more to take care our ourselves. The suffering of hunger-struck population in parts of Africa, or in a war-struck Afghanistan or Ukraine, and even the pollution struck neighbourhood borough is not that important anymore. There is no collective action to try to solve for such issues. Ofcourse something is being done, but none of that seems to be a priority.

Unless care returns, we are overwhelmed with compassion for our fellow citizens and far-away fellow humans; we will continue to optimize for ourselves rather than for a collective well being.

Realize that there is a problem!

We have to start here — realize that there is an emergency. An existential emergency, not only of the climate as it is, but of the entire planet — biodeversity, air, water, rich, poor, healthy, sick, literally everything and everyone. Unless we start accepting it, no significant change can take place. The approach for most of the key decision makers is to see how we can make more wealth out of the current problem of climate change — that is a very short-sighted approach which will not take us very far.

Full and complete realization, followed by acceptance is the first step. This should be followed by education and collective problem solving. Science and technology definitely has to play a very important role. However, the historians, philosophers, sociologists, political experts, psychologists and many other disciplines that normally are not part of such problem solving have to get involved. No one single person can find a solution by themselves.

Concluding remarks

The next couple of decades are going to be one of the most important in the history of mankind. The policies we make, the steps we take, the technologies we adapt, the capitalism that we redefine, the definition of growth that we rediscover, the alternate socio-economic-environental constructs that we experiment will make or break the liveability of everything on this beautiful planet. We can always “flee” and space technology can help us finding a new home for the rich few whom can afford. But that is not the end-game anyone would like.