We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator

While the push back of the global pandemic allowed a certain return to pre-corona normality the world is stilled face by developing multiple and interrelated crises including pandemic, climate crisis, wars, inequality etc. Related to this, global goals like the United Nation’s Agenda 2030 with its Sustainable Development Goals SDG, the Paris Agreement with its climate goals or the New Urban Agenda in response to a globally urbanizing world are derailed. In front of this background the UN Secretary-General António Guterres runs from one global conference to the next ringing the alarm bell. At COP27 Summit at Sharm el-Sheikh he said on Monday, 7 November: "We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator." And “Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish”. That’s heavy and it seems that everybody agreed more or less.

Assuming that the UN Secretary-General is right with his assessment why aren’t we doing what needs to be done? It seems that too often we still react with fear instead of foresight. We know the general goals but we don’t understand what’s in it for us in the unknown world of sustainability. In a sense it is natural and often it is also appropriate to focus on the fire burning directly in front of you instead of ignoring it and looking for further challenges. And let’s admit, many people are totally consumed by fighting for the immediate survival of their own, their family or group. In day-to-day life, individuals and groups are challenged multiple times and from many sides. Global leaders, national governments, mayors, neighborhood groups, spiritual and cultural leaders, advertisers, friends and family all ask for your support and action on priorities as they see them. In spite of these more or less reasonable requests and suggestions it wouldn’t help if you collapse and are no more available to look for a way of the ‘highway to hell’. Instead, in the interest to keep our eyes focused on the goals we have to keep calm and steady on, while things may get worse, before they become better.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the opening of COP 27 on 7 November 2022

Slider Photo Credit: UNFCCC/Kiara Worth

Multiple crises as the new normal: Things may get worse, before they become better

I am an optimistic realist and as such I don’t ignore worst case scenarios. Food crises, economic inequality, lack of inclusion and even mental health problems are on the rise and force more and more people to deal with these challenges first. This slows development and innovation on the short term. And of course, current challenges like the war in Ukraine, are they already worst cases? If you think so just consider that Putin may lose the war and warlords of the current war like Ramzan Kadyrov, Yevgeny Prigozhin (Wagner troops), the Russian military, secret services and regional leaders start a power fight ripping apart Russia with its many economic and social problems - and that in a country with many nuclear arms. Thus, even if Ukraine wins problems in the region and world can get worse while at the same time climate change may send us a new wave of disasters. To make things even more worse it doesn’t help that many national governments turn away from multilateralism and chose nationally favorable paths to fight common world problems.

As an urban and regional development expert I can imagine what negative side effects such developments could generate in cities and territories but, of course, I cannot really assess the likeliness and impact of above scenarios. However, it is important to recall worst case scenarios because there is no proof at all that the worst point would have been achieved already and that things can get better only. For the time being we should assume and adapt to the option that developing multiple and interrelated crises is the new normal now.  

Keeping calm and steady on

A lot of time, care and education is needed to become a grown-up. Learning and gaining experience are rather lifelong processes and we need to be patient with ourselves. Pressurin doesn’t always help. Corona just recalled the wisdom that without personal health, wellbeing and informed action we’re easily lost in times of crises.

When I enter an airplane the cabin crew usually provides security advice including this: When the pressure drops in the cabin, oxygen masks will fall. For that case I’ll be asked to first affix my own mask (!) before I help children and others. That makes sense because if I cannot breathe normally, I have little or no chance to help others. Therefore, thinking and helping first yourself is not necessarily a bad thing for individuals and groups.

Thus, I would like to say: Dear reader, in spite of the highway to climate hell we’re on, if you face major personal challenges regarding your individual economic, social situation and wellbeing don’t ignore them. This may prevent you at the moment to get engaged in other fields. On the longer run it is precondition to become even stronger as supporter or even as leader because you learnt how to grow up to challenges. To share an example of my own, since my early years I have an issue with high blood pressure which I inherited from my father and his mother. As a younger man I was ashamed to admit this ‘weakness’ but I learnt to listen to my body and to live more healthy. Thus, thanks to the health challenge I learnt a lot and the gained knowledge and experience helps me to successfully manage even phases of heavy stress. Today, when others get nervous or even panic, I am able to calm down and steady on.

Actually, instead of ‘patience’ I prefer talking about ‘burning patience’ to underscore that we need to keep on mind what is at stake at short and longer term for us as individuals and the world at large. If one is just patient, one may lose the sense of urgency and inner fire. And that can make your life quite boring and even dangerous. So, it’s in everybody’s interest if everybody takes care for his or her own needs and to be or become ready to take action for common causes.

Certainly, everybody should find a way to invest a maximum of time and efforts possible to get us of the road to climate hell (and other hells). Be it inside or outside the professional life, the help and transformation of everybody’s lifestyle in a more sustainable way is an important first contribution. If you want to do more and make a unique contribution to get us of that road to hell, I have a suggestion for you:

Lean back, stimulate your phantasy and write down in a paper or book a narrative for the post crises world. We have the Agenda 2020 and the Paris Agreement but these provide just goals. Their achievement depends on a longer, interrelated and multi stakeholder process with many variables. Thus, the goals don’t tell us much on how our life on earth would be organized and look like once the goals are achieved. We don’t have that inspiring narrative but we need it to motivate the eight billion people on earth to move and to move faster towards climate change adaptation and sustainability. Again, in case you’re not made to become a political fighter or technician on the path to sustainability why don’t you be creative otherwise and inspire us by telling us a motivating story on how to get off the road to hell and on the path to our future.