We are unstoppable. Another world is possible
If we look at the 7.9 billion people living in the world around us on this Human Rights Day, it can seem as if there is not much to celebrate.
Looking at the world through COVID glasses, we see that the pandemic has increased inequality and poverty. The pandemic could lead to five million more people in poverty than before, of which 120 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty. We see growing migration — 281 million people are on the road internationally, a number of which will end up victims of the growing and lucrative criminal activity of human trafficking. We see children — 160 million children working at an age where they should be going to school, to gain skills to access a better life. We see workers being arrested, detained, attacked, and even killed for trying to get their voice heard. We see a growth in attacks against community members and indigenous groups for defending their homes, land and livelihoods.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a taste of things to come. Some people — women, the poor, the elderly, the disabled, migrants, minorities — have been harder hit than others. The climate crisis that is unfolding before our very eyes will make things worse for all of us — but for some more than others. The poor will get poorer, and the vulnerable will become more vulnerable — with those who have contributed the least to climate change being the most impacted.
People will lose their homes. Climate-induced migration has already started and will continue — leading to 143 million people displaced by climate change by 2050.
People will die. Climate-related deaths have already started, and are expected to grow — to around 250,000 deaths per year due to malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea and heat stress.
And people will lose precious habitats and biodiversity. By the next 50 years, one-third of our plant and animal species could be lost forever.
This is not a world any of us wants to live in.
As I looked into the faces of the 100,000 who had gathered in Glasgow for the Climate Justice march in November, I saw many things. I saw anger against our political systems for letting us down. I saw anxiety for the future we and our children face. And I saw strong and fierce determination. The rallying cry “We are unstoppable. Another world is possible” resounding in the streets.
Climate targets reference ‘2030’, or ‘2050’, but really we only have the next few years to change our ways. Because of the now well-known scientific phenomenon of tipping points, where large and irreversible change happens once we reach certain critical thresholds in the climate, taking action later will be — quite simply — too late. There is no re-creating of ice sheets that have melted into the ocean. There is no turning forests back into carbon sinks, once they have tipped into becoming carbon sources. There is no reversing the effect heatwaves have had on coral.
It is not possible to put the genie back in the bottle, and neither is it possible to reverse the effect of many consequences of climate change.
What matters now is the actions we take today, and over the next few years.
This can feel both empowering, and humbling in equal measure. Each of us on this planet today are living at a truly historic time. The actions we chose to take today — as consumers, as voters, as professionals — will impact the quality of life on the planet for years and years to come. Some even say, the future survival of humanity on the planet.
Take a moment to look at what your government is doing to advance on the path to net zero in a people-centred manner. You can start with the Climate Action Tracker. Take a moment to look at what the companies you buy from are doing on climate change and the just transition. You can start with the World Benchmarking Alliance’s benchmarks. Take a moment to look at what you can do to be part of the systems-change needed. You can start with taking a look at Count Us In’s 16 steps.
So let me ask you. On this Human Rights Day, will you commit to being unstoppable?
