This has been an incredibly hot summer with many parts of India recording the highest temperatures in 122 years. Meanwhile, floods have devastated Assam and Bangladesh, leaving millions of people marooned or fleeing their homes. These are not random events. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a terrifying picture of heat waves, droughts and storms becoming more common and more extreme.
Humans are often highly motivated to avoid threats, so why do we ignore the threat of climate change? There may be several reasons. First, it requires us to forego short-term benefits for long-term gains. We are really bad at making such concessions; for example, we overeat despite knowing that it is bad for our health.
Second, climate impact, like smoking, is not linear; its effects are not apparent until the damage is very high. We fool ourselves into pretending that one more cigarette can’t do that much harm. A third reason is that its effects are still distant. Reading about melting glaciers in the Himalayas or floods in Assam does not touch our own comfortable lives. Finally, there is the ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ where each of us selfishly plunders a shared finite resource because it is ‘free’ or because the cost is shared by 7.5 billion others; or at least we don’t believe that our individual action makes any difference. The net result is that, like the proverbial frog in the pot, we risk boiling to death through inaction. Ask yourself how much you have intentionally changed your own consumption and lifestyle to reduce your environmental footprint. If you are like me and most people, the honest answer will be very little or even negative.
There are at least three reasons why the change must start with us. The first is because people like us contribute disproportionately to climate change. Carbon emissions are entirely driven by our consumption of materials and energy; the richer we are, the more we consume and emit. Globally the richest 1% or 75 million people contribute twice the emissions of the bottom 50% or 3.5 billion people!! It is the same in India; the top 20% of households emit seven times the emissions of the poor, according to a study by a Japan-based institute. Things will not get better until we reduce our consumption of everything.
The second reason is because people like us run all our institutions, our businesses, and the government. If we haven’t changed our mindset, lifestyle, and habits, it’s very unlikely that these institutions will actually embrace the change. The change will continue to be an intellectual exercise with a lot of gibberish about ESG, Net Zero and circular economies, but very little real action. It is only when we leaders change our own behavior that our organizations begin to change. Finally, we inspire others with our own actions; the change goes viral. So, contrary to the belief that “my puny efforts won’t really matter,” it’s the only thing that will cause real change. As Gandhiji said, we have to be the change we wish to see in the world.
So what can you really do? The underlying problem is unsustainable consumption, so start by becoming aware of what you consume. Use less, use more time, use wisely. Our parents and grandparents lived very sustainably. But that was before plastics, China, e-commerce, and before we had a lot of disposable income. So we buy much less. We use our cars, appliances and clothes for much longer. We use fountain pens and cloth bags. We reuse and recycle everything, including paper bags and bottles. We ate less meat and more fresh, local, seasonal fruits and vegetables.
One day, large companies can be more responsible and sustainable. One day we’ll have figured out how to price things to include their environmental impact, so we’ll think twice about our casual buy, use and throw away habits. One day, when much innovation results in green packaging, green steel and building materials, and renewable energy, our overconsumption may be less catastrophic. But until we get to this utopian future, the responsibility to consume less and more responsibly rests with us. I discovered that what works for me is to gamify my consumption. Just like the app on my phone that tracks my steps and encourages me to walk 10,000 steps a day, setting little challenges for myself is a lot of fun. Can I reduce my electricity bill a little each month? Can I spend a month without buying anything that is not essential? How close can I get to zero plastics? Can I go vegan? Do I really need to get on a plane to New York and generate two tons of CO2 or is it just my repressed desire after two years of Covid isolation?
Change is also easier when you are part of a like-minded community. I have gained a lot from being connected with neighbors who are environmentally conscious. This is how I learn and adopt new ideas. That’s why we started segregating our wet waste and started composting and recycling it. This is how we find chemical-free alternatives to household cleaners. Our neighbors inspired me to install rooftop solar panels. It’s fun to compete on how much we’ve reduced our electricity bills or plastic use. We can work with local government and civic organizations to improve waste management. Now, we’re tackling much bigger challenges, like carbon offsets for unavoidable air travel. These neighborhood communities also improve social cohesion and resilience, which is essential when dealing with crises such as Covid.
Many years ago, a friend gave me a NASA t-shirt that said “Good planets are hard to find.” It is true; As far as we know, our planet is unique in the universe. Our house is on fire. We all have to do our bit to save it.
Venkatesan is president of the Global Energy Alliance for People & Planet and author of ‘What the hell am I doing with my life?’
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The opinions expressed above are those of the author.
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Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com