SAVING OURSELVES: FROM CLIMATE SHOCKS TO CLIMATE ACTION

Join us for a conversation with Dana R. Fisher, renowned climate researcher. This self-proclaimed ‘apocalyptic optimist’ will discuss her belief that we can no longer wait for governments to pass the laws we need, for businesses to do the right thing, or for technological silver bullets to maintain a livable planet.  Each of us, Fisher says, must take action to save ourselves and save the planet.

“After 28 years of failed climate negotiations, scientifically informed emissions reductions set by governments have languished. Consequently, the pace at which the world is mitigating and adapting to the threat of climate change is far too slow to meet the challenge. Carbon concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise quickly, as the ice sheets melt and climate shocks—like droughts, floods, and heatwaves—increase in frequency and intensity.

Meanwhile, leadership of the climate negotiations at this late hour has been relegated to petro-states and former fossil fuel executives, which has helped make it impossible to agree upon, let alone implement, policies that could save us from the worst of the climate crisis. The writing is on the wall: the only way for things to get better is after they get much worse. Lives will be lost, and social conflict driven by climate migration and competition for increasingly scarce resources will proliferate. These look like insurmountable odds, and in many ways they are. But there is a slim chance that we can slow climate change enough to preserve our planet and minimize the catastrophe that is just around the corner.”

Adapted from Saving Ourselves

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SAVING OURSELVES
Feb 13, 2024 5:00 PM