Leanda Lee
Even if you may have commented ad hominem against Climate Change Activist, Greta Thunberg, or doubt if her message is fact or fiction, one to be known or alternatively believed, she tells us nothing particularly new. Her message is one that knowledgeable people all over the world for a good 30 years have been warning of (note environmental scholar, Bill McKibben’s 1989 classic, End of Nature) – that nature no longer has the capacity to absorb the volume of waste from industrial activity and first-world lifestyles, and that communities need to change.
The difference with Greta is that a) the time is finally right for people to listen because the feedback loops from ecosystems scream of an urgency to effect change and b) her unique persona has most crucially mobilised young people, and has adults heeding her admonishment, “You are failing us”.
With each climate report the scientific community is learning that previous models have under-estimated the speed of the impacts on natural systems upon which we ultimately depend. Tipping points are occurring in ecosystems that undermine their ability to absorb waste and recover from damage: not only carbon emissions, but deforestation, overfishing, plastic pollution, water-shed pollution are resulting in bio-diversity loss, soil erosion, ocean acidification, and desertification.
The Climate Action Summit called by the Secretary-General of the United Nations last week was a reminder to national leaders to get serious about meeting their commitments ahead of the 2020 deadlines laid out in the Paris Agreement. Faster than national leaders, though, have been cities and local governments who have declared a Climate Crisis, which becomes a premise to be considered when local policies and laws are created.
I was recently asked to contribute to the discussion on a Circular Economy Policy by an Australian State Government. Being developed as a priority before the end of this year, the policy looks at a range of priorities which aim to halt the extraction-to-dumping of resources in the economy to one that recycles, remanufactures, repairs and reuses. The idea is to recover and manage all waste from production and consumption. Only minimal residual waste then goes to energy recovery and landfill.
Corporate groups are also fast joining sustainability initiatives: B Corporations are legally required to account for the impact of their activities on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. The world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, the UN Global Compact, has over 9,000 corporate signatories that align their operations with protecting human rights, labour and the environment. The penny is also dropping with investors as study after study confirms that businesses which focus on environmental, social and corporate governance are better performers in the long run.
Individuals, too, are finding ways to contribute to rehabilitating economic and living eco-systems. 7.6 million climate strikers took to the streets between 20 and 27 September. We each can make a difference in a way that makes sense to us.
Over these last 3 weeks, I took part in 1 Million Actions 4 the Planet. It was about proving that a lifestyle revolution is possible, because this is what will be required of us, at the individual, community, corporate, national and global levels. The challenge was to go plastic free, meat and dairy free, and car free during my summer month in Australia. What I learnt was that doing without turned into gains in other ways, and that the reach for the cheese was not a real want but muscle-memory habit. Using public transport took more time and planning but could be used more productively than sitting behind a wheel, and friends were marvellously generous. Walks to the shops for daily necessities improved fitness and helped me connect with the local community.
We look for large institutions to take the lead but, in reality, it is the millions and billions of us making small changes that will trickle up and turn this tide around.
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