Climate Care
An uncertain world
Climate change is here right now. Evidence of rapid climate change can be seen in higher temperatures, sea-level rises, ocean acidification, glacier retreat, and extreme weather events such as high temperature and rainfall. More sensitivity is needed in the ways in which we understand how all life and well-being are dependent on the forces of nature.
Planetary health is more than simply survival. A radical rethinking and restructuring of how we organize ourselves as a society are needed. Climate change increases inequality; people living in slums and informal settlements are the most vulnerable to flooding and do not have the means to move when affected. Climate risk is not an existential question that can be ignored. Our planet has irrevocably changed; a vision for the future and what people can do to prepare is needed. Only by seeing the world as a whole can we tackle this crisis systematically and effectively. All perspectives should be embraced to share ideas and actions to face this global crisis.
People have to adjust their ways of thinking to this new reality. Although complicated and overwhelming, it is essential to make lifestyle changes to reduce the impacts of climate change. Significant systemic change is needed; the timeline to 2030 is full of climate goals, but how to reach them? It is a mission for all of us, farmers, manufacturers, brands and end-users together.
Banner image: Collage Rooms by Laufen
“More sensitivity is needed in the ways in which we understand how all life and well-being are dependent on the forces of nature. ”
1/The resilience economy
Envisaging the future
The pandemic, geopolitics, and the global effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have shown global manufacturing has become extremely vulnerable. Manufacturers have had to rethink their supply strategies, simplifying, shortening and regionalizing value chains with more flexible, digital and innovative technology. Our economies and societies also need to become more resilient against climate impacts.
A resilient and local circular economy lays the foundations for profound systemic change. The resilience economy is a creator of value. Innovations are emerging in transport, waste collection and processing, and companies that are closer to resources and customers.
The resilience economy is not just reactive but is transforming and adapting to changing circumstances. The critical factor is that it is proactive, that it is built on solid values and anticipates and prepares for the future. Survival is balancing out the short-term with innovative long-term thinking. Strategic thinking is setting the right goals to focus the daily efforts, ask the right questions and plan for tomorrow.
It takes time for innovations to scale up and be implemented. In the deception phase, it may seem that change is slow, but it is possible to identify exponential growth ahead. The most significant potential lies in combining several exponential technologies with behavioural change to create better solutions than we could have imagined.
Why this matters
Remaking our world needs systemic change, pro-active resilience and future thinking.
Hunter’s Point South Park/ Swa & Balsley and Weiss & Manfredi
The park serves as protective water management for the neighbouring community. Read more here
The Long Game/ Dorie Clark
Dorie Clark describes how to think long-term in a world focused on the short-term. See more here
Climate Project/ Real World Visuals
Animation showing New York City being buried under a mountain of giant bubbles to visualize the city’s 54 million tonnes of annual CO2 emissions. Read more here
2/Transforming industries
Efficiency and transparency
In the context of geological timescales, humans have produced near instantaneous planetary-scale disruption. Stabilising the climate at temperatures that could be globally acceptable will require much more than reducing emissions. What is needed transcends just reducing our footprint; we need to ensure we do not have a footprint at all, to become a planetary society.
Years of failure in leadership and policy have highlighted the dangerous impacts of global warming. Heroic efforts are needed to eliminate carbon dioxide by midcentury to have an even moderate chance of reaching the 1,5 degrees goal. The pathway is a narrow one but still achievable if governments and companies take bold and immediate action.
As much as 90% of a company’s climate impact occurs in its supply chain. Often, companies do not own or operate the production facilities that produce their goods, creating opaque globally complex systems. A little over one-third of large corporates are working together with suppliers on the climate crisis and carbon reduction. Outsourced production means outsourced emissions and often lacks clarity and control.
Social and environmental impacts need to be the basics of capitalism so that it is more inclusive, holistic and integrated with fundamental human values and nature’s limits. Supply and demand have put a significant strain on our resources. Industrial capitalism has transformed our societies and even the planet; we can reinvent the industrial model into something better before 2050.
Why this matters
A no footprint strategy requires bold and immediate action, especially in the supply chain and a reinvention of the established industrial model.
Carbon Tile/ Carbon Craft
The Carbon Tile is made from upcycled carbon captured and produced in India. See more here
Micro Factory/ Circular Economy Manufacturing
The Micro Factory is a small local hub recycling plastic powered by solar energy. See more here
The Plus/ BIG for Vestre
BIG has designed an eco-friendly factory for the furniture manufacturer Vestre, set to generate 50% less greenhouse gas emissions than other same size factories. See more here
3/ Climate beneficial
Turning around outdated systems
The world can reach net zero emissions by 2050, but significant changes will have to be made. The war in Ukraine has highlighted the dependency on Russian gas and the need to speed up a total transformation of our energy systems. Almost 90% of the globally produced electricity will need to come from renewable sources by 2050, with 70% from solar and wind. Major innovative efforts will be needed in this decade to implement technologies, such as carbon capture and cleaner ways to create batteries.
Companies are offsetting their emissions and decarbonising their value chain, thinking regeneratively and repairing some of the damage that has been done. Climate positive means that activities need to go further than net-zero carbon emissions to create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Systemic change comes from deconstructing our current systems and starting afresh with future-proof components, placing them in a new context. Radical change necessitates investments in knowledge, technology and institutions. It also requires both personal and socio-cultural changes. This radical rethink requires people to consider the underlying social drivers such as capitalist competition and power relationships.
Over the past 60 years, a series of agricultural innovations have helped feed the world. Today the global food system is unsustainable, it accounts for one-third of global CO2 emissions and no longer meets global needs. It is possible to turn one of our biggest challenges into our greatest opportunity, a regenerative food system that goes beyond sustainability and creates positive growth for communities, economies and the planet.
Why this matters
Transformation requires scaling up current initiatives and innovations and saying goodbye to outdated systems, products, materials and ways of thinking.
BamNut Noodles/ WhatIf Foods
Regenerative corps such as Bambara groundnut and Moringa are used to make these instant noodles. See more here
Supply chains and global emissions/ BCG
Food accounts for 26% of global emissions, followed by construction 9.4% and fashion with 4.2%. See more here
Hempcrete blocks/ Lemoal Lemoal
Lemoal Lemoal created hemp blocks grown and fabricated within 500 kilometres of the construction site of the Pierre Chevet sports centre in France. See more here
4/The adaptation era
Beyond human centric
Much of the discussion about climate change focuses on what climate change will mean for us; however, climate change impacts all species, not just human society. It relates to the idea of value and, in particular, how we value the natural world.
We have to think beyond human-centric design and take a holistic view of multi-species ecosystems. Humans are part of the equation, not the only focus. We are designing connections, ecosystems of living and non-living elements that relate to each other. A regenerative environment operates within ecosystem limits and restores habitats for all.
Climate change creates food and water insecurity, which in turn leads to increased mortality rates and displaced populations. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, the poor and indigenous communities are disproportionately affected. Adapting to the consequences of climate change and creating preventive measures are key challenges.
Globally attention on climate adaptation has increased. Developers are starting to build farther from the shore. Climate-resistant crops are being developed. Insurance companies are hiring climatologists to incorporate extreme weather into their mathematical models, and governments have started building coastal-protection systems. Despite its low contribution to global warming, Africa is the most vulnerable continent. Investments in resilient infrastructure and food security for Sub-Saharan Africa are a shared responsibility and should be a collective global action.
Why this matters
Build resilience towards the environmental challenges ahead.
How to prepare for climate change/ David Pogue
A guide to surviving and preparing ourselves for the years ahead by becoming more self-sufficient, where to relocate or how to manage anxiety. See more here
The Zoöp Model/ Zoöp
A zoöp model sets specific goals for ecological regeneration based on the idea that the climate and ecological global crises are the effects of a system that puts human interests above non-human interests. See more here
Halophytic plants/ Sonia Mehra Chawla
Photographs of the endangered coastal systems of India and Scotland and their crucial role in adapting to climate change exploring the intertwined ecologies of human and nonhuman lives. See more here
Further reading
Resilient City/ Elke Mertens
Climate change is one of the major challenges facing cities in the future and landscape architecture offers solutions that contribute to the quality of everyday life. The book addresses the social and cultural dimensions of resilience.
Net Positive/ Paul Poman & Andrew Winston
Net Positive argues that the companies of the future will profit by fixing the world's problems, not creating them. It is not business' only function to maximise profits, but through innovation and trust, we can create stronger, more inclusive societies and a healthier planet.
Saving Us/ Katharine Hayhoe
An optimistic view on why collective action is still possible and how it can be realized. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire but a push for change.
The Resilient Society/Markus Brunnermeier
This book describes how individuals, institutions, and nations can navigate a globalized economy filled with unknown risks. The author applies his macroeconomic insights to public health, innovation, inflation, inequality, climate change, and challenges to the global order.