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Dear Planetary Steward, dear friend of the Global Commons Alliance,
Do you and your friends and families talk about the ecological crisis? Or do you prefer to keep quiet in your despair? As this Linkedin post suggests, those who keep quiet may be feeling isolated, powerless, and a bit confused. This response makes sense, when you acknowledge that modern life is still based on an extractive economy, which prioritizes growth based on GDP. Even though we are scientifically aware of the implications of overconsumption, the economic system we all participate in is still designed to reward it (stay tuned: next week Systems Change Lab will release data and insights on the economic system).
This paradox creates a cognitive dissonance that can be reinforced by the media we consume. Coverage of Australia’s floods and the extreme heat wave that hit Central Asia – and the impacts these events have on our food systems, for example – were hard to find amidst headlines on tariffs upending the stock market. Stories about the Amazon fires rarely connect the dots for readers regarding the inseparable impacts on nature, food, human health and livelihoods.
Positive environmental news also goes under the radar. Did you know that in March, fossil fuels generated less than half of electricity in the US for the first time, driven by a huge rise in wind and solar generation? Or that oil’s share of global energy has dipped to 30% – its lowest in total demand since peaking 50 years ago. Finland is almost coal-free, four years ahead of schedule. New renewable energy solutions are being invented all the time, and today clean energy can meet all rising electricity demand.
We coexist with multiple truths against a backdrop of rapidly morphing politics that is deeply distracting, and delaying action. However, there is one thing we can be sure of: there are so many people working toward a future that isn’t dissonant with nature and the limits of Earth’s resources – people who are acting regeneratively, in community.
Hundreds of visionary grassroots leaders came together for Skoll World Forum in the UK last week, which saw foundations announce increased funding to nonprofits to make up for the shortfall from the US government’s withdrawal. In an opening statement for the UNECE Regional Forum for Sustainable Development, EU member states reiterated strong support for the “full implementation of the ambitious, accelerated, just and transformative actions” to implement the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals, while leaving no one behind.
We’re standing on the threshold of a massive shift in our collective storyline. While we may feel alone and confused by a society that seems intent on ignoring the roots of our global problems, the Global Commons Alliance serves to help lift up and connect the work of planetary stewards everywhere. The world is waking up and ready to demand a future that upholds security, justice and safety. Together, we have more power than we can even imagine. You are not alone.
With all our best,
The Global Commons Alliance team
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