Fixing climate change means measuring what we care about
[Music]
ideas are fundamental to how we see the
world
but what if the core ideas were used to
navigate the world were fundamentally
flawed
ecosystem collapse and a rapidly
changing climate are symptoms of these
ideas
our current thinking imagines the
economy as completely separate from the
natural world where economic activity is
exempt from natural laws
in reality the economy is embedded
within and entirely dependent on the
natural world
and this slide shifted mindset can
change how we think about the future the
goals we set
how we measure progress
and what we value
we’ve inherited an unusually stable
planet providing
all the conditions for life to thrive
within a single lifetime we have
transformed the earth this has led to
technological breakthroughs a booming
population and an overall increase in
human well-being
however
this has come at a price
we value short-term financial wealth
over the planet’s natural wealth
discounted the future at the expense of
the present and demanded physically
impossible exponential growth this has
created an immense amount of ecological
debt that we now need to repay
and unlike banks
nature doesn’t offer refinancing
on our current trajectory climate change
ecosystem collapse and pollution
threaten to take us beyond the earth’s
capacity to sustain human life
now there is a safe path forward for
humanity but
how do we navigate it
well
the solutions aren’t purely
technological
but conceptual
imagine driving a car late at night down
a windy road with a dashboard that only
displays how fast you’re going
without a fuel gauge headlights rear
view mirror and a sense of direction
it probably won’t end too well
a lack of meaningful information in a
complex world can lead to systems
collapse or in the case of the car
a fatal crash
this is compounded by the fact that our
actions and their impacts are often
separated by time and space
for example actions taken today in
europe can impact the amazon rainforest
tomorrow which can further increase the
chances of extreme bushfires in
australia decades from now
our actions also impact people distant
from us
a recent study showed that the lifetime
emissions of you
you
myself and half of you
three and a half people living in high
emitting countries will cause the death
of someone in the world between now and
if this person was sitting next to you
you might be more concerned
but we are wired to focus on the here
and now
throughout most of human history
life was slow and simple
we had close contact with our
surroundings and shared an intimate
relationship with both the natural world
and our peers
we didn’t evolve to consider existential
risk so we fail to appreciate the full
long-term costs of our actions
we lack meaningful feedback on how our
actions today will impact our ability to
thrive on earth tomorrow
we’ve never had so much information at
our fingertips yet we are increasingly
disconnected from both the natural world
that sustains us and each other
we need a new approach one that is
guided by science-based targets and
brings together both human health
and planetary health a guide to act
locally while thinking at a planetary
scale
what you’re looking at here is our city
in the shape of a donut it’s one of the
many data-driven tools my colleagues and
i are developing as part of our mission
to build open source technology to
support long-term sustainability
this model conceived by kate rayworth
puts people at the center of economic
development while acknowledging the
planet’s physical limits
thanks to breakthrough in earth science
big data and machine learning we can now
bring this model to life
as confronting as it may seem at first
this data paints an accurate picture on
how our community’s collective actions
contribute to global impacts such as
climate change deforestation
biodiversity loss and pollution the
inner ring defines a social foundation
where going into the red
indicates a shortfall in providing the
basic human needs
in essence
green is good and the goal is simple
create a space where all can thrive
within planetary means
these tools can help us better
understand ourselves and the active role
we all play in protecting the planet
creating a shared understanding of the
current challenges and the opportunities
for positive change
it can fundamentally shift the way we
see the world challenging our priorities
how we value the long-term future
even our concept of growth
we believe this is the beginning of a
new era where open data and intelligent
systems
empower local communities
through meaningful information mass
collaboration radical transparency and
with the guidance of science-based
targets we can guide humanity to a safe
space
we all play a role in transforming our
systems
and i encourage you to take that
seriously
when we measure what is important
rather than simply what is easy
we change what we care about
our mindset
and how we see ourselves in the world
thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
you