BBC Focus - 04.2020_

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CHRISTIANAFIGUERES

ChristianawasexecutivesecretaryoftheUnited

Nations(UN)FrameworkConventiononClimate

Change.SheworkedwithTomandothersto

achieve the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.

TOMRIVETTCARNAC

TomwasChristiana’spoliticalstrategistatthe

UN.Together,theyproducetheOutrageAnd

Optimismpodcastandhaverecentlypublished

their first book,The Future We Choose.

thathumanity’sachieved.Whenyousayit to

people,theygetthistightnessintheirchest

andgo,“We’renotgoing to do it! We’re not

goingtomakeit!”

Butthetruthis thatweoverestimatewhat

wecandoina year,andweunderestimate

whatwecandoin 10 years.That’senoughtime

toreplacethecapital-intensiveitemsinyour

lifethatarecausingmostoftheemissions.It’s

evenenoughtimetothink,“WhatdoI wantto

dointheworld?DoI wanttoretraininsome

waythatcancontributemore?How do I change

mydiet?DoI changemycar?”

Butit’struethatjustengagingwithour

ownemissionsandfootprintwon’tsolvethe

problem.Wealsohavetoengagewithpower,

so,thatmeansraisingourvoices,pushing

corporationstogofurtherandfaster,and

pushinggovernmentsatalllevels.

[ChristianaandI] completelyrejectthe

narrativethatwe’repowerless.Wecanno

longeraffordtheluxury and the indulgence of

feeling powerless.

WHATDOESTHATPLANETLOOKLIKEIFWEDON’T

REACHOURTARGETOFNET-ZEROBY2050?

TOM:That’swherewestartinthebook,with

animmersivejourneytothatworld.Webase

it onthescienceofwhattheworldwilllook

likeif wedon’tmakeanymoreeffortstocut

emissions.Thattakesusonthepathwayto

a worldwarmed by 3.8°C by the end of the

cent u r y.

It’sentirelypossible,withadditionaldecades

ofburningfossilfuels,thatmaskswillbe

common.Vector-bornediseaseswillexpand

theirrange,andmorepeoplewillbesubject to

WestNilevirus,dengueandmalaria.

Writingthatsectionofthebookwasactually

a strangelycatharticexercise.Manyofushave

a dimsenseofthatworld,butbringingit into

sharpreliefbroughtmea calmresolve.I was

like,“Okay,wellnowI seeit.”AndI know

thatI willworktherestofmylife to avoid my

children living in that world.

THEREARETWOCHOICESFOR OUR FUTURE. WHAT IS

THEALTERNATIVE2050?

CHRISTIANA:Thatis actuallyquiteanexciting

world,theworldthatwereallywantour

childrenandgrandchildrentolivein.It’s

a worldwherewehavegotcontroloverair

pollutionincities,soyouwalkoutofyour

house and the air is moist and fresh. We will

havereturnedfertilitytothesoil,andlife

totheoceans.We’llbelivinginbuildings

thatareproducingflowersorvegetableson

theirrooftop,ortheyhavesolarpanels,or

thesideswillbe covered in green vines to

absorbCO 2.

Allbuildingswillproducetheirown

energy,recycletheirownwater.Citieswill

largelyproducetheirownfood.Wewill

havefarfewercars.Muchlesscongestion.A

lotofthespacethatis currentlydedicatedto

transitorparkingofcarswillbededicated

toeitherchargingbatteriesor, even more

exciting,togreenspaces.

That’sa differentworld.Tosaynothingof

thefactthatmanyofthelow-lyingislands

currentlythreatenedwithdisappearing

mighthavea chanceofexisting.

So,it’sa fairerworld.It’sa healthierworld.

It’sdefinitelya morestableworld,and

overall, it’s a more prosperous world.

ISTHATWORLDACHIEVABLE?

TOM:Actually,bothworldsarepresentnow,

whichis whatmakesthismomentinhistory

amazing,right?Ata certainpoint,wewill

setourpathandit willbemuchmore

difficulttochangeit.Butatthemoment,

westandatthefulcrumbetweenthosetwo

worlds.It reallyis a question of choosing

whatfuturewewant.

CHRISTIANA:That’swhatmakesthe

difference.Wheredoyousetyourattention?

If yousetyourattentiononthepollutionand

transportation,wellthen,that’swhatyou

see.Whereasif yousetyourattentiononthe

progress,thenyoucanseeevidenceofthat

world.Thatiswhythemainmessageinthe

bookis:wehavetochoose.Bothfutures are

possible now. It’s a matter of choice.

THREEMORE

BOOKSON

CLIMATE

CHANGE

ONFIRE:

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BOOKSMART

LEFTExtinctionRebellion

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in January 2020