Six reasons why the world is not treating climate change as an emergency

Climate change is awful, sustainability is awesome. Although this is pretty well established, it is stupefying how many people don't act on it or have the immense cheek to outright deny it.
Here are my six reasons (with help from sources mentioned below) to explain why the entire world isn't rushing to fight climate change right now (and has more to do with psychology than the science behind climate change) -

1. What's in it for me attitude 

We - as humans - generally think and fend for ourselves (and for our families at best). Thinking for the entire world is neither easy nor common. Moreover, even if we do make that leap, what's the reward I get for fighting climate change? It is difficult to convince someone with more pressing concerns of making ends meet or focused on making a ton of money when the reward for saving the world cannot be individualized.

2. Short-term nature 

Like it or not, most of us are better at making short-term decisions. We'd prefer tangible short-term benefits now and would forgo more lucrative rewards available in the future. The reward here is not becoming extinct (or avoiding catastrophic damage) which should be a great long-term reward but it loses in front of a more comfortable way to access oil and continue driving. Moreover, the reward of our sacrifice today would accrue to the future generations and creates another layer of disconnect.

3. Inherent laziness

Humans are inherently lazy. It makes evolutionary sense to conserve our energy and take the shorter/easier path. Many people don't change until the situation becomes dire, and many tend to stick it out even when it is (case in point - people who stay back despite hurricane warnings). We suffer from an optimism bias that we can "solve" anything; we cured measles, we are curing cancer and we will somehow cure climate change.

4. The framing of climate change

Most people are aware of the dire consequences of continuing with the present way of living and economic activity. However, fast fashion, fracking and fossil fuels continue to dominate our economy. The climate change narrative has failed to capture the imagination of enough people which would lead them to action. Some psychologists suggest loss framing and using emotions instead of only facts to have a bigger impact. Irrespective of the better alternative, reading another scientific study telling us the world is getting hotter by 2 or 3 or 20 degrees won't have enough impact to create positive outcomes.

5. Diffusion of responsibility

This is my personal favourite. While working in group assignments, when there is no accountability/responsibility almost nothing gets done. Unless you have people/companies/governments that are all held responsible and are not allowed to get away with it, it is a little unlikely that material change will take place. The Paris Agreement is a good start but the accountability is pretty hard to measure and enforce (and powerful politicians calling climate change a hoax is so funny that it is sad).

6. Don't want to be first "sucker"

When the going gets tough, very few people are willing to be the first one to take the plunge. However, some companies and countries have taken the sustainability route and experienced great progress (case in point - Patagonia and Costa Rica) but they are treated as an exception or worse ignored.

The situation is pretty clear - change is the only way to solve this planet threatening predicament. Thankfully, scientists have overwhelming evidence on how and what to do with clear steps to be followed to solve this issue. Ironically, the process to get started - which is probably half the battle - seems almost impossible... which is why climate change is not just a problem of science but also a problem of human behaviour and psychology.

References -
1. Kluger, J. (2018, October 08). Why We Keeping Ignoring Climate Change Warnings. Retrieved from http://time.com/5418690/why-ignore-climate-change-warnings-un-report/
2.   Mazutis, D., & Eckardt, A. (2017). Sleepwalking into Catastrophe: Cognitive Biases and Corporate Climate Change Inertia. California Management Review, 59(3), 74–108. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008125617707974

Seven highlights from the world's first ever Blue Economy Conference

Let's start with what is a blue economy? Unsurprisingly, it involves monetizing the oceans... however, in a sustainable manner to improve livelihoods and ocean ecosystem health. It focuses on - amongst other things - maritime transport, fisheries, renewable energy and ocean tourism. The oceans are a great source for growth (and unfortunately, exploitation).

Now, coming to the key highlights from the first ever Blue Economy Conference that took place between 26th and 28th November, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya:

1. Presence of 18,000+ delegates from 170+ countries. It was co-hosted by Japan, Canada and Kenya.

2. Justin Trudeau announced Canada's suuport to the United Nation's Decade for Ocean Science and announced funding for Friends of Ocean Action Group. He reiterated the commitment to the Canada's Ocean Protection Plan directed towards protecting the coastal regions through investing 1.5 Billion Dollars over a period of five years.

3. Kenya will establish a Blue Economy Bank with an aim to develop this sector.
4. 40 Million Euros are set aside for the development of aquaculture in African countries.
5. Seychelles issued the first every blue bond worth 15 Million Dollars.

6. Sweden pledged 33.3 Million dollars to provide impetus for the transition towards a blue economy.
The strategy is to help achieve SDG - 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resource for sustainable development (although, life below water is much easier to remember).

7. Toyota has pledged investments in renewable energy in Africa and generation of energy from waste in Mombasa.


References -
a. Pscu. (2018, November 28). AU honours Uhuru for world's first Sustainable Blue Economy Conference » Capital News. Retrieved from https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2018/11/au-honours-uhuru-for-worlds-first-sustainable-blue-economy-conference/
b. Wambu, W. (2018, November 28). Pledges to implement key blue economy outcomes. Retrieved from https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001304413/pledges-to-implement-key-blue-economy-outcomes
c. Statement by the Prime Minister on the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/statement-by-the-prime-minister-on-the-sustainable-blue-economy-conference-701468592.html

Why social finance deserves more of your attention

Social finance (not to be confused with socialism) is about making money and not screwing up our planet. The and is what makes it special and critical for our future and also opens up great opportunities for growth.

Here are four (out of the many) reasons for social finance -

1.     High performing businesses

If you are looking to invest in businesses that achieve high returns, take a look at the companies focusing on their ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance. These are outperforming those that aren’t. That in itself is a good enough reason to take notice and also follow suit.

Swiss Re, SBI, BlackRock and many others are using ESG metrics to guide billions of dollars of investments.

2.     Global trend

The global trend is to move towards cleaner technology, sustainable business and overall integration with the community. The days of profit over ethics are slowly but surely changing.

Companies such as Patagonia, Natura and Dassault Systemes are a great example that have capitalized on this trend.

3.     Planet’s critical condition

Let’s face it, the planet is in the Emergency room and is only getting worse. However, it is not the planet that needs saving. The planet will be fine without us, it is us that might not survive the impending doom of climate change.

Businesses are a chief reason why we got here, and they are showing promise to get us out of this predicament if we deploy ourselves and our resources towards it.

4.     Chance to be on the right side of history

This is the ethics argument. We are quite possibly at a Tipping Point in history. Our actions in the next few years/decades will decide not only our fate but also of the next generation and probably humanity in general (so, no pressure). It is a glorious opportunity to undo the harm of the past 100 or so years and change our course.

For the better.