ChangeNOW Summit: all actors of change!
Last week our Director, Nicolas Duprey, represented Serve the City International at the ChangeNOW Summit, the largest event of solutions for the planet. ?? During 3 days, he had the opportunity to discover some of the most innovative solutions and meet impactful changemakers.
You will find below some of his takeaways.?
1. Time is short but we can do it
The Summit was a good opportunity to take stock of the situation a few years after the Paris Agreement. And according to Professor John Sterman of MIT, who developed with his team a model to help policymakers, the situation is not looking good, as we are currently heading towards 3.3 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era. Continuing down this path would be catastrophic for biodiversity as a whole and life on planet Earth.
But the good news is that solutions do exist, from massive tree planting to electrification of transport and energy efficiency. But the most powerful tool would be carbon pricing, which would also make it possible to finance the transition and a carbon dividend to protect the poorest people, the first victims of global warming. “Time is short but we can do it. It won’t be easy but it will be worth it. Nobody’s going to do it for us!”
2. Every one of us, whatever our age, can inspire change
But the transition is not just the responsibility of political leaders, but of each and every one of us. And for that, we can certainly draw inspiration from the younger generation.
Whether it’s Luisa Neubauer of Fridays for Future, who managed to get 500,000 people out on the streets and condemn the German government for its inaction on climate change, or, on the other side of the world, 9-year-old Francisco Vera, founder of Guardianes por la vida, which runs local environmental initiatives to influence national policies in Colombia. Age is just a number when it comes to making a difference. “Let’s stand up, speak out, and together transform our world!”
3. Nature and the wisdom of the ancients
The younger generation is a driving force for the transition but we must not forget to listen to the wisdom of our elders either. One of the highlights of the Summit was certainly the speech of Chief Raoni who has been advocating for years to preserve the Amazon, the land of his ancestors.
They made a vibrant appeal to tackle the most urgent issue of our time: climate change, and to stress the importance of preserving the lungs of the planet, the Amazon rainforest. The role of forests in regulating the climate remains largely underestimated but our current lifestyles and consumption patterns are putting them at great risk. Alongside them, we have all been able to realise that we belong to the same ecosystem: “We belong to nature, we need to protect our planet together, and it is our shared duty to care for our earth.”
4. Let’s ChangeNOW!
We can no longer say we didn’t know, we even know the solutions and we are part of them. So let’s get inspired by the energy of the young and the wisdom of the ancients, and let’s take action.
Like Serve The City and Rob Hopkins‘ Transition Network, both founded in 2005, we know that change can be contagious. We don’t need 100 perfect transition activists, we need million imperfect ones. We all have a role to play, and at #ServetheCity we will continue to work relentlessly in every corner of the world to empower citizens for a more sustainable world. We owe it to future generations!
