Climate Protection

Warming Stripes for 1850-2018
using the WMO annual global temperature dataset

Graphics by Ed Hawkins.  https://www.climate-lab-book.ac.uk/ 

Instead of a detalled description of technological systems and the possibilites for the implementation of energy transition and climate protection, here is my personal view on the climate crisis and on the changes that are needed.              

Climate crisis
 
The use of fossil fuels has significantly changed life on earth within a relatively short period of time. The enormous increase in material wealth for part of humanity, mainly in the industrialized countires, is partly offset by disastrous environmental damage. Modern civilization with urban construction, transport, mining and agriculture has lead to massive destruction of natural resources and to the extinction of species. The regenerative capacity of our natural resouirces water, soil and air is extremely threatened. Many of these damages are due to the utilization of fossil energies.  

If we want to avoid these dangers  and preserve a save and sound planet to future generations, we have to switch to renewable energies as soon as possible. And in this context as soon as possible means: now! 

Renewable energies

For thirty years, energy transition has been delayed, postponed, overslept and impeded. In the meantime, the time for excuses is over. Likewise, the time for a gradual and moderate change has also expired. That’s why immediate and consistent action has to be taken. This requires fundamental changes in many areas which might often not be fully accepted in the start. An example for this is the old concept of electricity generation with base load power plants. In the future, this will no longer be compatible with the new requirements for rapidly controllable generation capacities. System design therefore has to take into account the volatile nature of renewable sources, mainly wind and solar. 
But the energy transition does not only effect the electricity sector. Heat supply, mobility and industrial processes must also be switched to renewable resources. All this requires significant changes in the production, distribution, storage and use of energy.

 

Great transformation
 

Mankind is at acrossroads: will we continue destroying the natural resources of our planet within the near future or can we manage to provide a good and dignified life for all people and future generations? In order to maintain the ability of ecosystems to regenerate, to stop the extinction of species and to continue to live from and with the earth, all human systems that intervene massively in the natural balance must be environmentally compatible. This applies not only to energy production but also to agriculture, transport, chemistry and – indirectly – our economic system. Continuing like this would inevitably lead to catastrophic consequences.

The German Advisory Council on Global Change has already published a major study on global environmental change in 2011 (Welt im Wandel: Gesellschaftsvertrag für eine Große Transformation, WBGU 2011). The conclusion of this study is that humanity must fundamentally change its economic and production methods and its consumption habits if it is to counter the danger of catastrophic environmental damage and dramatic social upheavals in the not too distant future. This change is an enormous challenge, not only technologically and economically, but also culturally. 

In this context, one question immediately arises: do we really want to let go of habits we have grown fond of and accept inconveniences for something that we cannot (yet) see, not yet experience, that is proclaimed by scientists and environmental activists? Society’s answer so far has been: no, we don’t want this change – at least not that way. We would like to have the transformation in light format and with the possibility of withdrawal. And this applies not only to climate sceptics, but to the vast majority of our (Western) society – including most energy turnaround activists and myself. Obviously, our emotional resistance is much greater than the desire for change. 

However, the change we want will not happen by itself, let alone by the forces of the market. It must be consciously shaped by people. This makes it all the more important to ask oneself:
– What prevents us from doing what is good and necessary? What holds us captive?
– What could give us the courage and confidence to make the decision for real change?
– By what means and in what ways could the Great Transformation be set in motion? 

 

 

The vision
 
The great challenges we are facing today ask for adequate and resolute action. In order to maintain perseverance we need to have a new vision.
The scenario of a future catastrophe is obviously not enough to motivate us to act. Even smokers cannot be stopped from smoking by the worst pictures on their cigarette packets. But what permanently motivates people are the questions of meaning and justice. The transformation makes sense because it places each of us in a large context, and it contributes to justice because it is unjust for a few to live at the expense of many and future generations.

 

Many people are frustrated and no longer believe in “saving the world”. They blame politicians, economic bosses and capitalism for nothing changing. And indeed, there is much that could be criticized and lamented about the prevailing conditions. But a blanket apportionment of blame is neither appropriate nor helpful, and it distracts from one’s own necessary activities. Admittedly, we face major challenges, many of which we have no idea how to tackle, let alone cope with. What we need first and foremost is courage and creativity. Courage is needed because the size of the task can easily make us afraid that we will not be able to cope with the challenges. And creativity is called for because something new is called for, because many old and familiar solutions are no longer suitable. 

 
Courage and creativity
 

To be brave does not mean to be a hero and to risk our lifes. Courage displays itself in the multiple decisions of every day’s life.  A small courageous step per day can add up in the course of a year to a big leap, which one would not have managed all at once. Who makes such an experience is strengthened in doing the small steps again and again, instead of only complaining that the large change does not come off. Or to put it in a nutshell: A risk a day keeps frustration away.

The second prerequisite for change, creativity, may also appear to many to be too great a hurdle. Creativity sounds like genius, like art, like extraordinary abilities. But creativity is not about top performance, but about the playful creation of something new from what already exists. Every child is creative, and we do not forget creativity even as adults. But all too often we forget our creative potentials, we even pour them in ourselves: through too many plans and too narrow ideas of what something has to be like, through distraction, through multitasking, through stress and through fear of not meeting the requirements.

 

We are creative in a natural way when we are not distracted and not anxious. Unfortunately, however, a large part of our working and leisure life is directed towards distraction and diversion. Above all, the new media make great efforts to permanently distract us and to deal with secondary issues. As a result, we lose sight of what is essential and our concentration on what moves us within slips away. An antidote to this distraction is mindfulness. 

 

Mindfulness
 

Mindfulness plays a central role in many spiritual traditions and is seen to be a precondition for wisdom and happiness. A large part of spiritual practice revolves around the training of mindfulness. It is not about the supernatural, but about the simplest and most immediate thing we have as living beings: the current moment. Mindfulness means being aware of my mental and physical state at every moment. Mindfulness begins by becoming aware of what you are doing. Unfortunately, a huge distraction industry promotes our daily carelessness practice. A conscious mindfulness practice could instead significantly increase our happiness and satisfaction. And, by the way, help us to accelerate the necessary political and social changes.

In the vast majority of cases we do not perceive our current environment and ourselves, but think of the past or the future, we plan, evaluate, judge, indulge in situations that have already passed or are yet to come. We only partially perceive what is happening with us and around us. In particular, we only experience our body in connection with great emotional events. The fine and subtle inner impulses and processes then remain hidden from consciousness. But this is exactly where our potential for intelligent and creative action lies.

 
Overcoming the crisis  
 
Now, what has mindfulness to do with the energy transition and the Great Transformation? Mindfulness is the fertile soil on which courage and creativity can grow. And it protects us from simplified and populistic views, because it helps us to recognize that very often there are neither simple truths nor simple solutions. It also supports us to overcome the seeming contradiction between the overburdened complexity of our modern world and the human need for security and simplicity. I am convinced that the world can be saved, that the climate crisis and the ecological challenges can be overcome, if enough people act responsibly and mindfully. Let us do it together!