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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/09/climate-scientists-despair-stubborn-optimism-paris-2015-climate>
"“Hopeless and broken”: that is how a top scientist interviewed by the
Guardian described feeling as she and hundreds of other climate experts
shared harrowing predictions of the future of the planet this week.
I resonate with her feelings of despair. Even as the former head of the UN
climate change convention that achieved the Paris agreement in 2015, I, like
many, can succumb to believing in the worst possible outcome. Just after I
assumed the role of UN climate chief in 2010, I said to a room full of
reporters that I didn’t believe a global agreement on climate would be possible
in my lifetime.
Now, scientists say we are on track to shoot through the 1.5C temperature
ceiling enshrined in the Paris agreement, leading to a dystopian world plagued
with famine, conflict and unbearable heat. Climate impacts have hit so fast
that worst-case scenarios predicted by scientists are in some cases already
coming true.
This isn’t scaremongering: these climate scientists are doing their job. They
are telling us where we are, but now it’s up to the rest of us to decide what
this moment requires of us and to radically change the direction of travel.
Collective doubt in our ability to respond to the climate crisis is by now
dangerously pervasive. Beyond climate scientists, it’s shared by politicians
and some young people. It’s also shared by some philanthropists who fund
climate NGOs, and by many who work in those NGOs. It is shared by some
financiers, and some of those who work in companies struggling to reduce their
emissions.
A sense of despair is understandable, but it robs us of our agency, makes us
vulnerable to mis- and disinformation, and prevents the radical collaboration
we need. Doubt holds us back from taking bold action, which is why it is
strategically seized upon by incumbents, who have invested millions of dollars
(probably much more) in sowing uncertainty around the climate crisis and its
solutions among the general public.
We all have a right to grieve the loss of a future free from the climate
crisis. It is a deep, hard loss. And it’s particularly painful, because those
of us who read these reports bear a great responsibility in passing an unsafe
planet on to our children and future generations. But grief that stops at
despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably those on the
frontlines, are not prepared to accept.
We also have the responsibility – and the opportunity – to shape the future
differently. We must take stock of the science, triple down on our efforts
and deploy the perspective of possibility.
For example, what has been achieved in transforming the energy system to this
point, pushing against a fossil fuel industry deliberately intent on delaying
progress, and within a lacklustre policy environment, is extraordinary."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
