Like many human rights and climate professionals, I went into this year’s New York Climate Week feeling overwhelmed about the scale of the climate crisis facing us, compounded by a barrage of political and economic setbacks at every turn. But I was surprised at what I found. Despite all odds, the current, challenging moment for action on climate action and human rights is pushing all of us to get beyond talk to action.
Three things I learned:
- Events were suffused with radical honesty, especially about the fact that This. Work. Is. Hard. Panelists and audiences focused on the difficulties in the current political and economic moment— largely financial and capacity-related — of undertaking truly transformative approaches to tackle our current climate and nature challenges. Another moment of honesty? Speakers were transparent that the business case and demonstrating to the C-Suite, board and investors the return on investment from climate and just transition efforts is more important than ever — a departure from years past where the business case was often the elephant in the room.
- But there’s a silver lining to the challenges we’re up against. Hearing organisations say that they haven’t cracked the challenge yet can feel like a setback for the sustainability movement. But in fact, there’s a silver lining: acknowledging the challenge means that companies and their partners are truly getting down to the brass tacks of what works, what doesn’t, and what’s needed next. For example, a panel focused on a new pilot to decarbonise textile factories dove right in on the opportunities and costs of adopting new technologies and what forms of capital suppliers can mobilise. Similarly, questions from suppliers in the audience focused not on why they should participate in the programme but on how they could get access to finance and what purchasing companies can do to support their participation. Everyone is on the starting block, ready to run.
- We’re talking about just transition even when we’re not using the term. Key phrases that kept coming up: “risk-sharing,” “co-benefits,” “sharing the costs.” There was a strong call to more equitably share both risks and benefits of the transition, whether between developing and developed countries or between brands, suppliers, workers and local communities. Everyone is looking to the question of who pays the costs (financial, physical, mental) of the transition and how these costs could be shared equitably — core components underpinning a just transition.
Human Level’s prediction: looking ahead, we’ll see a strong demand for clarity, play-by-play roadmaps and practical solutions. Let’s meet the moment.
