Climate change is everybody’s business. We have lived experience of it, with extreme weather events now taking a physical, monetary and emotional toll on society. We have a profound obligation to act. If we don’t, future generations would be justified to look back and say ‘what were those people thinking – consuming and amusing themselves without thought for the future’.
We are in a climate emergency. It is not hyperbole. World scientists are ratcheting up their pleas for politicians to act and Mother Nature is speaking loudly with record heat waves (most recently in Europe), bushfires, storms and floods, and coral bleaching.
The frequency of extreme weather events has increased and global economic losses from these events in the past two years is estimated at $653 billion, according to insurance giant Aon. The UN estimates the world could see 1 billion climate migrants as their food and water supplies are impacted. This is not someone else’s problem, it will affect us all.
We know that climate change is real, because we have seen it and felt it. Of the hottest locations on Earth on January 24 this year, 91 were in Australia. Rain dumps in north Queensland led to massive flooding in Townsville and the loss of 600,000 cattle. There were catastrophic fires in central Queensland rainforest.
I recently attended Climate Reality Leadership Training in Brisbane, along with 800 others, where former vice-president of the United States and Nobel laureate Al Gore said we cannot keep using Earth’s atmosphere as an open sewer for greenhouse gases because this is threatening our very existence.
A key message from the training was that the community, non-government organisations and businesses are already moving ahead with climate action and enabling solutions, even as national governments fumble and bumble on semantics. The bottom line is that if we all take small steps within our sphere of influence, the outcome will change.
The finance and insurance sectors are speaking out, and leadership is coming from the business sector in ways that can harvest the co-benefits of reducing climate heating. The economics of new coal plants is illogical, Mr Gore said.
“We have to change and we have solutions available. Renewables are already providing cheaper power than fossil fuels, with solar and wind technologies able to produce what we need,” he said.
Australia has the opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower of the 21st century with the transition to renewables like wind and solar as carbon-free energy. Australia can be 200% renewable, with 100% exported, but we need leadership and policy to support new opportunities and remove obstacles. Businesses such as Atlassian are leading the way.
Climate change need not cost jobs, quite the reverse. Governments need to back renewables as ‘forever industries’ and fund alternative jobs in a transition that may take two decades.
We are at a pivotal point in history, in how we deal with it. We need to shake off the lethargy, find the moral courage to save the future for humanity. The goal is to keep warming to under 1.5 degrees because shooting over that will have serious consequences, including the risk of losing up to 50 per cent of all land-based species this century.
Scientists are warning we have a decade to turn back dramatic temperature increases, halt further biodiversity loss and potential ecosystem collapse. Other scientists have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakeable belief, it will be adopted by the majority of society. In the 2015 Paris agreement, every nation agreed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Of all nations, only the United States is backing away from that.
Polls show three-quarters of Australians want action on climate change. What can individuals do? Mr Gore said use your voice and your vote. Speak-up, be respectful and kind. You do not need to be a radical to make a difference. You can use your choices. One small step in the right direction, becomes a giant leap when multiplied a million times.
- Investments: We are all investors through our superannuation. There is now a massive $2.8 trillion invested in Australia in superannuation funds. You can become a climate conscious investor and shift your portfolio to companies that are embracing the sustainability revolution by investing in renewable energies.
- Consumables: We are all consumers, of food, clothing and other products. You send a signal up the supply chain to the companies you buy from. Long-distance transport has a huge impact, so support local farmers and businesses who genuinely demonstrate they are doing the right thing.
- Lifestyle: Live simply. Fly less. Use public transport and walk more. Consider a low consumption lifestyle in which you work fewer hours and have more time to do things for yourself. Earn less, spend less, live more. Get into gardening, composting and mending. Watch the 2040 film by Damon Gameau or read his book about the regeneration, it will inspire you to be thoughtful about what our world might be like two decades from now.
We need to have hard conversations at this moment of real danger that can’t be sugar-coated. At the same time though, we need to be wary of scaring people because that causes paralysis and inaction, and dealing with climate change is a people problem.
We are crossing a tipping point now, with sceptics opening up to discussions about being part of the solution. We all can be part of local momentum to build a shared understanding and focus on opportunities for a bigger, brighter environmentally sound future.
“We will solve this if we stay rational, logical and optimistic. We can change. We must change. We will change because change is itself a renewable resource,” Mr Gore said.
There is reason for optimism. Australia can thrive in a net zero emissions economy. Financial markets have moved to support green innovations and we need to help politics catch up. The Queensland Government has a 50 percent renewable energy target by 2030.
I have come to understand that slow clothing philosophy is a climate change solution. Two-thirds of new clothing is derived from fossil fuels, and textile waste is creating harmful methane emissions. We need to change, and the simplest way to do that is to use what you have and do what you can. #LeadonClimate #climateaction #slowclothing