This Is Why We’re Not Solving the Climate Crisis
As an environmentalist, there are three vital mistakes I see our society making
A thick blanket of smoke hung over the city. 19 million hectares were burning. 1.25 billion animals were perishing. 33 human lives were being lost. Do you know where I was?
I was visiting my home city of Sydney from rain-soaked London, in the summer of 2019-20. But rather than enjoying a (pre-pandemic) summer of blue skies and beaches, the city was gripped by fear and loss. Because Australia was experiencing the most catastrophic bushfires in our countries history. And climate change was happening. Now.
That was the first time I realized climate change isn’t in the future. Extreme weather events are ramping up around the world. They’re more often and more severe.
From the freakish heat dome in Canada that turned an idyllic mountain village into an inferno. To the four flooding events at Saint Mark’s Basilica in the last 20 years (compared with six flooding events over the last 1,200 years). To super typhoon Goni in the Philippines, the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone on record.
Climate change is lapping at our calves. And at our current trajectory, it’s going to be splashing at our knees. Before we know it.
So, who am I to tell you what mistakes we’re making? Why should you listen to me?
Well, I’m not a climate scientist. I’m not a political leader. I’m not a climate tech founder.
But, you know what I am? I’m a deeply concerned citizen and parent.
Who’s learned about climate science with the SDG Academy - an initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Who’s chosen to use my voice as one of former US Vice President Al Gore’s Climate Reality Leaders.
Who’s decided to sacrifice a steady corporate income, to build a climate education startup.
Who’s had a profound moment that woke me up to the climate crisis. A moment that it was impossible to look away from.
Have you had a climate moment? Something that’s made you realize we must change?
It’s a critical first step we must all take to be part of the societal push to solve climate change. To make the most of the opportunity to build a better, greener, fairer planet. And that brings us to the three vital mistakes I see our society making on climate change.
1. Waiting For Everyone Else
There seems to be a lot of waiting happening.
Fossil fuel companies waiting for investors to value the triple bottom line.
Investors waiting for bigger impact investing opportunities.
Businesses waiting for governments to set climate regulations.
Governments waiting for citizen voices to inform regulations.
Citizens waiting for the government to take sweeping action.
Governments of some lower-emitting countries waiting for governments of the highest-emitting countries to act first.
And the waiting continues. And empty promises get made for a distant future. For someone else to somehow make our society “net-zero”.
Lesson One: Don’t wait on the sidelines. Wherever you’re sitting. Get in there. And make your voice heard.
2. (Not) Shifting From Anxiety To Action
I’ve got eco-anxiety, do you? Thought so. If you get it, you’re not alone. Eco-anxiety is on the rise.
Feeling anxious or helpless or angry about our environmental crisis is a very real and natural response to what’s happening on our planet. And it can send you into the fetal position, doom scrolling through the night.
Or…
It can wake you up. You can channel those feelings of helplessness and fear into climate action. And I’m talking about more than your own personal carbon footprint here. I’m talking about finding your climate agency. Something you’re already passionate about, or something where you already have influence. Where YOU can make change happen.
If you’re a chef? Add some delicious, nutritionally balanced, plant-based meals to your menu. Or fight climate change by tackling food waste.
If you’re a nurse? Join efforts to explore alternatives to single-use plastic in the medical industry.
If you love fashion? Be a driving force in the movement to make fashion circular.
Climate change is a wicked problem. The need for change is deeply interwoven throughout our daily lives and societies. There are many (many!) parts of the puzzle that you can help solve.
Lesson Two: Find your climate action agency. Where you already have passion or influence.
3. Thinking It’s In the Distant Future
When “net-zero” commitments and climate models focus on 2050 — or sometimes 2100 — it feels like a long way off, doesn’t it? It feels distant. It feels far away in terms of time and space.
But meanwhile… We’re trapping as much heat energy as exploding 500,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs — every single day. 365 days a year. And since 2001, we’ve had 19 of the 20 hottest years. The last 6 years have been the hottest of these.
The reality is, climate change is happening to you and I, right now. Take a look at today’s headlines, and you’ll see extreme weather events happening somewhere on the planet. We’re getting stronger storms, hotter wildfires, bigger downpours, longer droughts, rising seas. Because these weather events are becoming more frequent, and more severe.
Just because we don’t see it every day — with our own eyes — doesn’t mean climate change isn't happening here and now.
Lesson Three: Climate change is not something in the distant future. It’s already here.
Summary
Climate change is a wicked problem. And there’s no one shiny thing that will fix it. We need to shift society — to tackle this crisis with all our might. And to find the incredible opportunities within.
I believe that the three most important things you can do, are to:
- Find your climate agency — and take action.
- Talk about climate action with the people in your life — and don’t hold back.
- Use your voice to put pressure on political leaders and big businesses — and make them realize the future is now.
Individuals switching to reusable coffee cups won’t solve the climate crisis. But each of us taking meaningful climate action? That just might.
