Bad news is not the story

Dear Stubborn Optimist,

In what’s been billed as the most consequential year of elections in history, presidential candidates in the U.S. are preparing for next week’s Super Tuesday - when most States hold their presidential primaries or caucuses. The votes will follow a year in which natural disasters forced two and a half million people in the U.S. to leave their homes.?

Twenty eight extreme weather related disasters in the U.S. in 2023 caused at least $1billion worth of damage each. A third of those affected said they had experienced some food shortage in the first month after being displaced. More than half reported interacting with someone who seemed to be trying to defraud them. And more than a third said they had been displaced for longer than a month.

The social costs of the climate crisis don’t make it into the billion dollar damage estimates, but they take a huge toll on those affected: mentally, emotionally and physically. Building resilience and adapting to climate impacts as they continue to worsen is critical. This includes scaling up renewable energy infrastructure and access; scaling up nature regeneration, and it must also include building a system of care and support with - and for - affected communities.?

Christiana previously wrote about how it’s time to: ‘upgrade our understanding of ‘Self’, in which Self is written with a capital S. Self with a capital S includes ‘me’ but doesn’t exclude others: it includes others. Self means who I am and my relationship with all other actors – and all other life on this planet that we share and are interdependent on’.

This week many brilliant people are hard at work in ensuring we take better care of our life-giving environment - our Self - at the ‘sixth session’ of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) happening in Nairobi this week. The participants will be looking at how multilateralism can help tackle the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Backed by strong science, political resolve and engagement with society, the Assembly is billed as an opportunity for world governments, civil society groups, the scientific community and the private sector to shape global environmental policy.?

All efforts to restore harmony between humanity and the rest of nature are vital, and we look forward to a series of good outcomes from the event.?

OUTRAGE + OPTIMISM: ON THE CALENDAR

!! Calling All Listeners !!?Do you have any questions about the incredible miniseries on Nature that Christiana and Isabel hosted earlier this month? We’d love to hear how your relationship with nature has changed over your lifetime, or what impact you think an individual’s relationship with nature has on our global systems, for example. Send your questions or comments in writing, or as a video or voice note, to: [email protected] with 'Audience Q&A' in the subject line before March 11th.

Tune in for the answers with the hosts and Isabel on Thursday March 14th.? This week: Our hosts discuss the ongoing farmers' protests against environmental policies. They look at the backdrop: falling incomes, high costs, competition from cheap imports and increasing pressure to reduce polluting pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers and discuss what this means for our climate and biodiversity goals. How can we make the changes we need to the food system to safeguard the future, while feeding people now and working together with the farming community? Join us, wherever you get your podcasts on leap day, February 29th.

Next week: In celebration of International Women’s Day, Christiana interviews author Gaia van der Esch , whose book ‘Leading Our Way: How Women are Re-Defining Leadership’ looks at how female leaders from across the globe are redefining the meaning of leadership. Wherever you get your podcasts, Thursday, March 7th.

In case you missed it: Hear our hosts in conversation with climate scientist Michael Mann , Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science, and Director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media (PCSSM) at the University of Pennsylvania on the thorny issue of 1.5oC. Professor Mann helps us think through what the liabilities and implications of breaching the 1.5 degree ceiling mean in the run up to COP29 and beyond.

If you like this ‘dose of Outrage + Optimism’ and haven’t already, do sign up to our full bi-weekly email newsletter to make sure you’re not just informed about the climate crisis, but also inspired to be part of the changes we all need to make.

In this week's email newsletter you’ll find:

?? What's happening with investors in the U.S. who appear to be dragging down net zero momentum

?? The scientists taking to the streets in protest

?? Tips from the team: what we've been reading and watching this week

Thank you for reading our newsletter.

With stubborn optimism,

The Outrage + Optimism team.

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