Once in a while, I try on my favorite dress from the early 90’s. Naive, I know. It’s only possible to pull up the zipper in the back if I hold my breath really hard and a dress that can only be used for one minute at a time has obvious limitations.
Today I took it to a dressmaker down town to see if it might be possible to modify it a bit. She resolutely pulled up the zipper, looked me in my stressed eyes and said sternly: I won’t do anything with this dress. Lose a couple of kilos in weight and it will fit you perfectly.
Filled with confidence, I went back to the office. Two kilos should be easy! Then, I ate some pizza leftovers while watching the IPCC’s press conference. As you might know, the IPCC, or the UN’s Climate Panel, released its climate report today, based on more than 14,000 published research studies on the climate system and how we affect it.
The IPCC report should be shocking
But it is not, which is sad in itself as the message is so clear. We read and hear facts every day about how bad it is. We all know (well, not everyone, but most) what we do to our planet and we have clearly started to see the effects. Still, we continue to eat pizza. Because it’s so good! We are simply not prepared to skip it if we do not have to.
The report says:
“Unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5° C will be beyond reach”.
We know. We also know that extreme heat, heavy rainfalls, droughts, fires and acidified seas are consequences of our behavior. Absolutely, there is nothing wrong with our minds in that way. We understand what we read, hear and see, we hear what they say. That’s not the problem. And we know it’ll get worse if we do not stop. Still, we eat pizza.
We will continue to exploit our world until someone forbids us to do it. We will not stop emitting greenhouse gases and other toxins, fishing up every fish from the oceans and burning up our rainforests just because we know we are destroying our world as we know it. As I said, there is nothing major wrong with our intelligence. The consequence thinking on the other hand…
Restrictions and regulations
When Covid-19 hit us, the threat was more immediate. Restrictions, curfews, closed borders and all kinds of rules were quickly set up. We understand rules and restrictions and we did what was required. The EU Green Deal will hopefully have the same effect on us when it comes to the climate. Restrictions, rules, whip and carrot. Because that is the only thing that makes us act differently.
The IPCC estimates that we still have the chance to limit global warming to 1.5° C.
It’s still possible. If we want to.
We do, don’t we? We are kicking off the autumn at Greengoat today. Our growing team is ready to start working with our customers again, helping them prepare for a reality that is already here, ensure that they are correctly positioned and have a good idea of what is required to succeed going forward.
Join the ride!
