How are we going to explain this?

A while ago I read the book ‘hoe gaan we dit uitleggen’ written by the Dutch writer Jelmer Mommers. In his book he writes about the disaster that awaits us if we continue living life like we do in our fossil fueled world. The great thing about this book is that it also presents a positive future scenario. The scenario is not based on fiction or expected technologies that will be developed in the future, but the scenario focusses on technologies that are already invented today. Often very negative visions of the future are presented, rightly so, because if we continue the path were on, we will destroy our earth. In this blog I want to draw attention to the book written by Jelmer Mommers and share two ongoing processes influencing the climate in a positive way. With this global problem we cannot sit at the sideline and watch what happens because in the end climate change will hit us all. As individuals we are only a drop on a glowing plate, but if we combine all the drops, it will become a wave of change.

First of all the book, the title of the book ‘hoe gaan we dit uitleggen’ already confronts the reader. The problem of climate change is not a them and us problem, but a ‘we’ problem as mentioned in the title. Combined with a baby in a space suit on the cover, a sense of guilt creeps up on you. In the first part of the book Jelmer presents the history and how the homo sapiens have influenced the ecosystems around the world. In the second part he sketches a scenario of what the world would look like if we didn’t change a thing. It discusses what our living environments would look like, how conflicts are caused by water shortages and refugee flows, and it even sketches how the wealthiest populations are living life like nothing happened. This scenario is a living hell. Sadly enough, it is not based on bullshit but he substantiates this part using climate reports and developments that we already find in our contemporary society. After wanting to curl up and die Jelmer luckily begins with the third part of the book. In this part he sketches a more positive scenario which he even knows to substantiate and present in a feasible way. In the last part of his book, he describes how some of the positive developments are already taking place. I think the book is a good read, as it is one of the books not only presenting a doomsday scenario, but also presents well-founded developments being made. I hope that I have made you curious enough to read it yourself.

Now on to some developments I think are promising to prevent doomsday from happening. Let’s start off with one which is also presented in the book of Jelmer, being that most of the solutions we need for a carbon-zero future already exist today. Low cost solar, wind, hydropower and battery technologies are examples of technologies on exponential trajectories, that if sustained, will be enough to halve emissions from electricity generation by 2030. Not only will the implementation on a large scale be beneficial for the environment but it will also open a completely new labor market and create new investment opportunities. The cost of these technologies has also plummeted which is beneficial for the implementation. For example, the price of a solar panel is less than one tenth of the price it was in 2000.

Another positive note is that the number of people stepping up against climate change are rising. There are more and more campaigns, lawsuits, laws, and cooperation’s fighting to have a positive impact on our climate. For example, years ago it was a normal thing to fly as much as you wanted. Nowadays there is a debate going on in private circles on the time we spend in the air, what we consider to be ‘normal’ is shifting. On a larger scale big lawsuits are started against multinationals such as shell. Hereby these companies are finally held accountable for their actions, and for neglecting climate reports already presented mid-twentieth century on what fossil fuels do to the climate.

We still have a long way to go, and there must come a revolution in the way we use and produce products. However, it is important not only to read bad news about our climate but also focus on the positive developments going on, this offers perspective for our common future.

How do you contribute to positive change?

Sources:

- Mommers, J. (2019, 10 maart). Demonstreren voor het klimaat heeft zéker zin. De Correspondent. https://decorrespondent.nl/9248/demonstreren-voor-het-klimaat-heeft-zeker-zin/1019212832-2af6c347

- Mommers, J. (2019). Hoe gaan we dit uitleggen: onze toekomst op een steeds warmere aarde.

- The good news about climate change. (z.d.). World Wildlife Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/the-good-news-about-climate-change