Climate change is a threat greater than any we have faced before. But it also represents an unprecedented opportunity to transform our society’s social and environmental credentials.
The greatest scientific effort in human history is working to understand the changes we are causing to the climate system. As the sophistication of our understanding continues to increase, we realise more clearly the enormous scale of the challenge. Climate change holds the threat of overwhelming our efforts even before we can fully marshal them.
The task ahead requires a paradigm shift in political thinking and political courage.
It requires the redesign of how our societies are structured – how our economies function, how our energy needs are met, what values we consider important.
Ensuring our future wellbeing will require many shifts in our lifestyles – how we think about energy, how we feed ourselves, how we trade amongst ourselves, how we build things, how and when we travel. However, these changes, motivated by a need to address climate change, can also bring substantial social and lifestyle benefits.
We have a window of opportunity which is narrowing rapidly – we must act now
We are already feeling the impacts of man-made climate change. Currently, our ability to address it is very real. We have a window of opportunity which is narrowing rapidly – we must act now.