From climate to biodiversity to growth to waste, we are addressing a variety of pressures that require new shared solutions. In a series of posts here, we will take a closer look at these challenges and what sociocratic processes can contribute to them.
Climate Change: A Global Challenge
Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. Years of spiraling carbon emissions mean we are now so far down the path toward a very different planet that it will be very difficult to avoid the rise of new deserts, the flooding of coastal cities, and the displacement of hundreds of millions of people, all of which carry the potential for famine, disease, and war.
Less than 3 years to remain in budget. While halfway down the slope of the curve, we have less than three years to remain within budget if we aim to have a 67% probability of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (and we are already experiencing extreme weather impacts from a 1.1°C rise).
Although things are certainly super-urgent, a sequence of visuals just published by Our World in Data can demonstrate how per capita CO2 emissions figures are looking pretty unhealthy in countries like China, the USA, and India. This is really an expression of what happens when you pump more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and the temperature gets warmer, as illustrated by the temperature anomaly chart. This rise is just the latest sign of human influence on climate change and of the urgency that we deal with those changes today.
This places the weight of carbon emissions at an unbalanced angle worldwide. Historically, the greatest time-integrated emitters, developed cum coming economies like India, should have the greatest ability and responsibility to take the actions to mitigate on the global scale. But that has to also mean that countries such as developing countries adopt renewable energy and clean tech because they are growing sources of emissions.
This disproportionate burden is also reflected in the financial and technological resources available to fight climate change. Richer countries have cash to invest in R&D into “green” tech; poorer ones all too frequently have even more immediate competing needs, from not having enough money right now to not growing out of poverty. Rich countries not only have to cut their emissions, they have to help poor countries through technology transfers and climate financing, as the world transitions to a sustainable future that is also a fair one.
The science is undeniable: we are in a climate emergency. But, the Climate Clock suggests, we still have time to do that. We need to decarbonize and transition to a 100 percent renewable future as swiftly as we can. The data and the curves tell us we will delay no longer and we will act with all the urgency that this moment requires.
Addressing Climate Change and Sustainability: Private Sector and Government Roles
The private sector and governments cannot win the battle against climate change unless they are riding in the same boat. There is further a broader, catalytic role for the private sector to establish and drive best practice and innovation in clean technology. Governments, in contrast, must be proactive with pro-sustainability and low carbon economy enabling policies and regulations.
Ultimately, one of the integral parts of the process is the corporate sustainability reporting. This KPI allows a company to measure and report the environmental, social, and economic cost the environment, social surrounding, and economy are forced to pay, and gives transparency and one target point where the company can make steps to improvements. That reporting is vital for ensuring that climate funds flow where they should and what investors want are projects that are actually helping build the climate-friendly future.
The most recent IPCC report, the Sixth Assessment Report of Working Group I (AR6 WG1), only adds to that urgency. The report is a rigorous and sober presentation of the science of climate change, issuing gravely worded new warnings about the consequences of inaction and the need to prepare for what lies ahead. It is the most comprehensive and authoritative report to date. And while it is still not enough to keep the planet from increasingly warming, it underscores a growing body of scientific evidence that human activity is the dominant cause of climate change, and it comes as the Trump administration is attacking the science and seeking to roll back the Obama-era policies on climate change. Businesses and countries should use the findings in their strategies and policies to ensure they are keeping up with the most current scientific evidence and sustainability ambitions.
Private sector and government should join hands with the private sector and other non-governmental organizations to tackle the challenges of climate change. What this common sense approach gives us is the ability to make a collective offering to minimize the damage of climate change, to invest in strong policies, in clean tech and responsible business, and to welcome into our arms a future that is more sustainable, more just, more joyful.
This article is part of a series addressing sustainability challenges. If you’d like to see the other posts in this series, visit the following links: