What more can we do to adapt to the climate crisis?
“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator… we are in the fight of our lives – and we are losing.” This was Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, at COP27. For all the efforts to reduce carbon emissions, and they’re still rising, the COPs have done little to change this. As individuals, it’s easy to feel helpless and despairing: this blog explores how we can respond.
Overall, the current situation is a nightmare: so many vested interests, compounded by political weakness and a fake news blizzard, all powering us on towards climate hell. It takes a big effort to believe there are gifts in this crisis, but let’s make that effort, and seek them out.
Try to imagine a happier life in 2030, although materially we may be a lot worse off. We’ll probably be poorer financially, living with expensive food and energy… but, if we share our resources, cooperate in local neighbourhoods, and give each other love and compassion, we could be happier.
On a modest scale, this is already happening: look at the growth of food banks, repair cafes, climate emergency centres, and how local volunteer groups formed in the pandemic. How this all scales up hugely as things get harder is a crucial question I can’t answer. But experience shows that in disasters like Hurricane Katerina, almost everyone cooperates for the greater good, despite our fears of fighting and looting. This is confirmed in Rebecca Solnit’s excellent book, A Paradise Built in Hell, see my blog on it here.
Exploring these issues with others in workshops, we concluded that people can’t be persuaded to engage with climate change or start adapting. Instead, why not create the structures, networks, information resources that anyone can turn to when the need hits them?
Another way we can raise our capacity to adapt is on the spiritual dimension. I would have lost the will to live in recent years if I didn’t have some faith that there is a higher purpose in this chaos and pain. Buddhism has a lot of wisdom about how to live with suffering, and release our attachments. Christian contemplative prayer invites us to open our hearts deeply and meet the world’s pain with our love.
If you want to see more about the kind of spiritual practices I’m suggesting, check out Cynthia Bourgeault for a Christian approach, Thich Nhat Hahn for a Buddhist view, or my blog for a Sufi view. My website, www.soulresilience.net, could also be helpful.