5 takeaways from the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Global Training
In the summer of 2020, I had the opportunity to attend the Climate Reality Leadership Global Training. The aim of the training is to prepare leaders around the globe to be able to speak to and act on the climate crisis.
The training included live sessions by Al Gore to present the crisis, its impact and the possible solutions, as well as breakout & skill-building sessions around climate activism and of course multiple group work and networking sessions for discussions and experience sharing.
Overall I found the training very empowering and informative and feel a lot more motivated and equipped to do my part in raising awareness about the climate crisis and how we can act on it and the following are my 5 biggest learnings
1. The impacts of the climate crisis go beyond global warming
The impact of the climate crisis goes beyond natural disasters, it has a ripple effect on almost all aspects of our life. It affects our food and water supply and global health in general.
From water contamination, heat stress, the continuous increase of climate-related deaths to the clear effect of air pollution on immunity, the climate crisis is affecting our global health from many angles. It has even been linked to the rise of infectious diseases- according to epidemiologist Andrew Dobson.
Especially in the middle of a global pandemic it becomes clear that it is the same one agenda for both health and sustainability and for the well being of both people & nature.
2. Climate activism & justice are about economic, health, gender and racial justice
Despite the increasingly frequent news about forest fires, flooding or tropical storms, it’s easy for many in first-world nations to only occasionally think or hear about the climate crisis. Most of us live in the comfort of our homes, barely affected by the impacts of the crisis. Our homes are safe, with the luxury of regulated temperatures and our food supply is almost never affected in our supermarkets.
The devastating thing about the climate crisis is that communities and people already affected by poverty or the injustices of the economic and social system are also the ones who are affected the most by the climate crisis. It’s the underserved communities, cities & areas that were not built with the proper infrastructure or studies that suffer the most from flooding and storms. Less developed countries are suffering because of the development and carelessness of some of the developed countries. And this unfortunately only makes it easier to care less and feel less urgency.
The climate fight is a political & social fight for justice
One of the most impactful stories to me is the fact that Kiribati is already the first nation that was forced to purchase land in another country to house its climate refugees. The rising sea levels are already making parts of their islands uninhabitable.
The impact also on indigenous people around the world is also huge, their food supply, land and lifestyle are strongly affected, when they’re actually the ones with the least contribution to the crisis.
There are a million more examples of how marginalized and underserved people of the world are the ones suffering first and all lead to the same conclusion the climate fight is a political & social fight for justice.
3. There are existing alternatives and steps being taken
The first 4 days of the training were mostly focused on communicating the size and the impact of the climate crisis. Explaining the scientific proof of the problem and its origins and showing examples of the various effects resulting from the crisis.
It gets very depressing, because it really is a crisis.
But there’s good news:
The technology and solutions to take action towards solutions exist and are flourishing. Greener energy from solar and wind is becoming cheaper to produce making it more affordable and
Not only are solutions becoming more accessible but the conversation and regulations are gaining more momentum and action and steps are taken around the world. From the Paris agreement to countries like Costa Rica, Germany and the UK implementing regulations and tangible climate goals, there are reasons to be optimistic.
And the very exciting part for me was the comparison of the adoption of green energy to the adoption of cellular phones in developing countries.
In remote areas and places where access to energy and electricity is currently scarce, there’s an incentive to skip the fossil fuel and coal stage and go directly to the green energy options, especially as they become more affordable and more attractive as investments. Examples from Southeast Asia and Africa were inspiring.
It’s enough to know that enough solar energy reaches Earth every hour to fill all the world’s energy needs for a full year to be optimistic.
And it’s only a matter of time till we are able to truly harvest the potential of solar and other green energy sources.
4. People who care are everywhere
The training was attended by close to 10,000 people from around the world. And this is just one training and one platform. It was beautifully overwhelming to meet and connect with so many people who all care about the same thing and who want to do the work for a better future.
People who are calling for action are everywhere, from student strikes around the world to people leading initiatives or simply making small lifestyle changes, examples and inspiring stories are everywhere. And they all made me feel in great company and definitely less overwhelmed and alone.
Meeting awesome, motivated people from around the world and sharing our ideas, challenges and stories was definitely my favourite part about the training and the effect that it had on my motivation to take action is indescribable.
The proof is I’m in my office on a sunny Sunday writing a blog about the climate crisis — who would have thought!
5. Don’t underestimate individual action
One of the most inspirational sessions in the training, for me, were 1) a conversation between Al Gore and Patricia Espinosa, currently the Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and 2) a panel with climate leaders from Asia, Africa, Mexico and North America.
In both sessions, the leaders talked about the action they are taking in their roles and shared learnings and challenges, but they also emphasized how important it is to not underestimate individual action.
Just go for it, don’t wait for the big idea, start small & grow
The fight can feel overwhelming and bigger than one person or even one group and the difference that I or you can make might seem trivial.
But the message and the stories from the leaders is absolutely inspiring. One person can truly lead to change in their community just by starting the conversation. You will also find people who also care to support you and you never know how you’re going to end up making real change.
Have that conversation, do your research, share that article, join that strike or whatever action you feel inspired to do!
