/Adaptation and Transformation Series/
It jumps on you from every corner… Climate change, COVID-19, poverty, crisis… You do hear, it is the time to act. But you ask… Why me?
A friend of me has just given birth 😊. Her son was born in September 2020, into the struggling Covid-19 World. By the time he is twenty the +1.5°C warmer world would be sttruggling much more.
The kids of my best friends were born around 2010. By the time the Earth warms to +1.5°C globally, they will be juniors in their jobs, maybe right now establishing their own families.
The teenagers protesting in streets (or online now), where born in early 2000. They still cannot vote for better political representation, they do not earn money to do better consum decisions, and cannot influence processes in their workplace.
In the time they all can act, take decisions and influence the world around with their everyday action, the temeperature will grow in non-reversible way, with many consequences to our lifes (for more info, check ‘Climate Series’).
Yes, he is the young graduate. Fresh, full of ideas and enthusiasm. Suddenly facing the reality of the first junior job in a company, which is neither environmental startup, nor flat hierarchies organisation he was wishing for. Unsustainable decisions are made for him without him. He face having a little influence on everything – starting with bottled water in the office and ending with uneffective and environmentally costly supply chains.
Myself, I belong to the next category. I was born in a world divided by the ‘Curtain’. I have profited from the market opening, digitalization, cheap flights and globalization. Now, I am in the age and position to act how I want and invest my energy and knowledge to influence and change the world around me. For me, my family and for all those, who are not that lucky as me.
My parents will soon retire. They wish to live in peace and in pace which do not exhauste their remaining power. They have experience, yes, they do. But mostly they wish to do what brings them joy.
And you? Where do you stand?
How old are you going to be in 2040, when +1.5°C will be the reality? And how old will be your beloved ones?
Can you act now and support those in your surrounding who cannot?. Those who will live the consequences we have contributed to?
Let’s learn together how to get in the place of power!
Let’s do it together, using the uniqueness of each of us!
[1] The climate graph was taken from the publication United in Science, 2019.