Excuses Won’t Save the Planet 5 Parental Tips to Get Back on Track

It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Paris Agreement limiting global warming to no more than 1.5°C is slipping away.?

Yes, global warming is a difficult, multi-faceted issue that will require sacrifice and commitment to overcome.?The deteriorating economy around the world is exacerbating the challenge.?While countries and companies have acted on climate change, they’re falling short of their commitments.?We’re already feeling the consequences of our failures.

So, parents, what would you say to your kid who wasn’t keeping their commitments??Here’s some parental advice for a world in need of it.

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1)?????The time for baby steps is over

If your son procrastinated on his term paper for the last month, and it’s due tomorrow, slow and steady won’t win the race…it’s time for caffeine and cramming.?

Likewise, there is a myriad of reasons that companies and countries have failed to meet their environmental commitments, and the impending global recession is just one more obstacle.?That said, the problem is continuing to mushroom.?If we wait until a more convenient time, our only options will be band-aids to slow the death spiral.?It’s time for caffeine and cramming.

So, how can we make up for the time lost??One action is to accelerate innovation around carbon capture technologies that remove and sequester carbon dioxide from the air.?A combination of carbon reduction AND removal may do the trick.

2a) ??Say what you will do, do what you say…

2b) ??As you learn things that change what you should do, make the change, then do it.?

Publicly committing to a goal is a powerful motivator. ?However, in many endeavors, we don’t know what we don’t know.?If you learn something that changes your plan, say it, then do it.

If your daughter’s goal is to make the track team running the 100 meters, she may find in her training that she’s not as fast as the other girls, but her endurance is off the charts.?She switches her plan to long-distance running and makes the team.

If one of your environmental goals is to reduce the carbon from your company’s transportation activities by adding electric trucks to your fleet, you may find that availability is limited or initial costs are too high.?However, if your trucks have an average utilization of 60% and you can increase that to 80% through cooperative agreements with other companies, you may still be able to reach your carbon reduction goals.

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3) You get what you measure

If your child wants to get an “A” in their chemistry class, would you measure the pages read in their chemistry book or the grade achieved on their mid-term??Of course, you would measure their grade.?At the end of the day, it’s results that matter, not activity.?

Similarly, companies and countries need to hold themselves accountable for lowering their carbon output, not pounding their chest about all their activity.?Further, the focus needs to be on total carbon output, not carbon output on a per-unit basis.?If a firm reduces its carbon by 10% per mile but drives 25% more miles, it’s still a failure.

4) Create the conditions for success

If your goal is to have your teen mow the lawn by the end of the day, it’s reasonable that you would have a lawnmower available.?

On a global scale, we may want less developed countries to, for example, stop deforestation.?It’s easy to sit in a Western Country and tell others to stop deforestation.?It’s more difficult when harvesting trees puts food on the table for your family.?More developed countries need to provide less developed countries a “lawnmower,” the tools to achieve their environmental goals.?For example, providing training and equipment to launch new industries that put food on the table while keeping trees in the ground.

5)?The consequences of failure must be clear and meaningful

Going back to your son who procrastinated on his term paper, there are things you could do to get him off the hook.?You could make up some story for the teacher to see if he could relax the deadline.?Worse yet, you could write the paper for him.?In any case, if there are no consequences for failing to turn the paper in on time, future behavior is unlikely to change.

Those who must act on climate change should feel the consequences of inaction.?Sure, society will feel it, but that’s not what I’m talking about.?Specific individuals, companies, and countries should feel it.?That will not happen by appealing to their virtue, it will happen by impacting their pocketbook.??

Require transparent reporting from companies free of “marketing speak” and tie executive compensation to the attainment of environmental goals.

There are legitimate debates about the pace of global warming, but there is no reasonable question that we have a problem, and it's getting worse. The increase in natural disasters and rising sea levels provide indisputable proof. Companies and countries cannot take their foot off the gas, so to speak, on climate change. Yes, the worsening economy has provided yet another excuse to pause environmental efforts. Global warming, however, is relentless. We can either act now or pass a more significant problem on to the next generation. Is that the parent we want to be?