Can the Economy Work for Climate? Can Climate Work for the Economy?
The million-dollar question of balancing economic growth and climate issues
Last month, I joined a fellowship by Global Future X called Global Future Fellows. The topic of this year’s fellowship was something close to my heart: “Forging a Climate-Economy Equilibrium.” Coming from a finance background in my previous life, while now working on climate issues, it felt ironic at first. I gave up a finance job to start a climate-tech startup, always thinking that the two fields were incompatible.
What has happened to our planet is a result of our greed, fuelled by the current economic structure. The more we produce, the better. The more we consume, the more prosperous a country is. We have forgotten that consuming more now means less for the future. It is hard to turn back time, and I have often felt pessimistic about our future.
The four-day fellowship allowed me to meet 41 new friends from various sectors, including government, non-profits, academia, corporations, and startups. Just when I thought there was little hope in changing our trajectory, I began to see a new light at the end of the tunnel. The beauty of meeting a bunch of high-performing and fantastic people is that it re-energises you with new hope. A new hope that there are people who care. A new hope that there are those who take real action. A new hope that there are people who we can collaborate with to amplify our impact.
Collaborative governance
It is actually a new word that I learned throughout the fellowship. Copying from academic paper, collaborative governance is defined as;
the processes and structures of public policy decision making and management that engage people constructively across the boundaries of public agencies, levels of government, and/or the public, private and civic spheres in order to carry out a public purpose that could not otherwise be accomplished
I just have to like the last part of the definition, ….to carry out a public purpose that could not otherwise be accomplished. What is more public purpose than tackling climate change?
So, collaborative governance try to say that policy making cannot work in isolation. That ivory tower? That exactly is the type of policy that will cause chaos and solve no problems. What we need to strive for is a collaborative decision making. A process where each stakeholders get a say. A process that is participatory. A process that is not made in ivory tower.
Throughout the fellowship, I am hopeful that this could be done. Collaboration can be done, albeit difficult. It is a tougher journey, but it is the right one. No organisations, not even, or especially startups like mine can do our job alone. Startups need to be backed by good policy. Governments need businesses to run the economy. And the economy needs non-profits and academia to keep improving lives for more people.
We need each other, so what is so hard about collaborating? Well, it is hard. That is why it is worth doing. It is hard to lower our ego and start discussing. It is hard to listen and not to speak. Collaboration is about listening more, not speaking more. About finding common ground. About finding equilibrium, despite differences. Or actually, finding equilibrium, because differences.
I am starting to believe that a climate-economy equilibrium can work. It can work when both sides start to listen. What does the climate need within the boundaries of economic growth? What does the economy need within the boundaries of our environment? When one prioritises its own ego, that is when we fail to find equilibrium. So, listen more, we shall.
