Addressing the metacrisis and climate action

🌍 The way we are approaching, encouraging, and assessing #NetZero—through NDCs, corporate targets, and carbon accounting—is not just inherently insufficient, it is actively counterproductive. Net zero is an atmospheric imperative. Achieving it requires: • Decarbonizing the world’s energy, industrial, and food systems • Enhancing the absorptive capacity of the world’s carbon sinks Transforming these systems requires: • Clear roadmaps • Technological innovation • Adequate public and private finance • And coordinated action among public and private actors across sectors, borders, and value chains Our dominant frameworks—focused on individual country and corporate target-setting, measurement, and accounting—falsely assume that systemic, regional, and sectoral transitions can be delivered by the sum of individual targets and plans. This flawed logic disincentivizes the coordination needed. Rather than identifying an entity’s leverage to address systemic barriers to decarbonization, both countries and companies, which cannot decarbonize on their own, purchase offsets so they can methodologically “claim” to be net zero while continuing to emit, increasing rather than decreasing atmospheric GHGs. This has also led to a reliance on credits to fund nature-based and technological solutions that need substantially more and reliable financing. We’ve built an entire architecture around the wrong unit of ambition and analysis, and we are now fixing symptoms (to make the accounting more credible), not confronting the underlying structural misalignment. Accelerating climate action requires decisively shifting from individual targets to coordinated, transformative planning and implementation. This means: 🔁 Prioritizing and supporting Long-Term Low-Emission Development Strategies (LT-LEDS), which are inherently more ambitious and pragmatic than NDCs. 🛤 Supporting scenario planning and sectoral roadmaps, not just insisting on more ambitious NDCs and FF phase-outs. In many EMDEs, there aren’t clear technical roadmaps for how FF-based energy can be replaced reliably and financed affordably. 🤝 Facilitating coordination across regions, value chains, and stakeholders, not emphasizing individual action. 💸 ensuring adequate and affordable financing for the necessary transitions. (Note: private capital doesn’t move because of better carbon accounting, risk metrics, or pressure. It moves when transitions become financeable: - Enabled by clear roadmaps and aligned policy and regulations - Structured through investable market design by coordinating demand and supply - Supported by public finance and tailored risk mitigation) As we head into New York Climate Week, I hope we focus less on statements of ambition (NDCs and corporate targets) and more on rigorous, technically grounded transition pathways—and the collaborative, cross-sector engagement required to deliver them. The stakes are too high to keep solving the wrong problem.

Business Climate Resilience 🌎 Climate-related disruptions are increasing in frequency and severity, creating material risks for business operations, supply chains, and local communities. Addressing these challenges requires a structured and forward-looking approach to climate resilience. The World Economic Forum presents a framework that outlines ten key actions across three pillars: enhancing resilience, capitalizing on opportunities, and shaping collaborative outcomes. These actions are designed to help organizations avoid economic loss, drive sustainability-linked value, and strengthen systemic responses. Enhancing resilience involves asset-level climate hazard mapping, crisis response planning, and contingency strategies for workforce productivity during extreme weather. Addressing single points of failure and diversifying service delivery and supply chain models is essential to minimize operational disruption. Capturing new opportunities requires understanding long-term consumption shifts, adapting local business models, and directing R&D toward sustainable materials, circular models, and resilient infrastructure. Climate-smart portfolio strategies can position climate adaptation as a source of competitive advantage. Systemic resilience depends on coordinated action across the value chain. Collaboration with public, private, and grassroots stakeholders can unlock shared value frameworks, support regenerative practices, and enable the deployment of early warning systems and nature-based financial mechanisms. To operationalize these priorities, businesses are encouraged to activate key enablers within 24 months. These include integrating climate risk into enterprise risk management, conducting detailed audits of capabilities, and aligning capital investment decisions with resilience objectives. Data intelligence, scientific partnerships, and responsible use of technology—particularly AI—will be critical to improve foresight, enable adaptive planning, and enhance the quality of strategic decision-making in the context of escalating climate volatility. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg

Have been thinking about sustainable products, cleantech, climate-tech investments, etc. Had recently come across numbers around our current material intensity (12x of the last century) and wondered if an energy transition itself represents any real change. Want to open up the thinking/discussion around this, esp for those focused on these areas, and not looking at related issues of biodiversity, livelihoods etc wrt their goals towards #ClimateChange I'm starting to think we'll really need to focus on all three simultaneously - emissions (which we do), the net energy math and the material intensity of production, a product or a solution/method. Too often we focus on one win and take a loss on the other, sometimes worsening the problem (Just read that lithium cells are leading to a new class of forever chemicals leaching into the biosphere!). Of course, it makes it harder to analyse and assess, and we cannot achieve wins along all the directions all at once. But we mustn't "declare success" with a sense of finality on solutions till we understand and solve for all of these in rapid iterations, even as we back certain solutions. We must certainly not scale solutions and products too much while even one of these continues to be a major challenge, lest we create a bigger problem. It's interesting that many nature based solutions are more likely to solve to for these more, but we still need to be watchful of excessive energy, and the wrong combination of materials in the process of making it work. Happy to dive deeper into this as thoughts emerge, and hopefully frameworks too. But surely, keeping this at the back of the mind will lead to better outcomes as we pick from an ever increasing (thankfully) range of ideas and solutions to help address various aspects of the #metacrisis.

Why big problems need small wins For decades, Enrique Ortiz has worked to protect some of the world’s most vital ecosystems. In a recent Mongabay commentary, he voiced a truth that many in conservation rarely say aloud: Environmental messaging is failing to inspire enough people to act. The facts are known, yet they rarely change minds. To break through, Ortiz argues, we must tell stories of tangible change—rooted in real places, people, and results—so hope becomes not just a feeling, but a reason to act. The science is not flawed, nor the dangers overstated. The problem is relying too heavily on facts to change minds in a world where facts alone rarely do. Research shows people decide through a mix of emotion, experience, and social cues—not purely data. This mismatch explains why so many accurate messages fall flat. Climate change, framed mostly in planetary terms, can feel so vast & distant that individuals see no way to influence it. Ortiz calls for a narrative “revolution”—stories of adaptation & resilience, grounded in lived experience, over abstract warnings. When he taught students about plant-animal interactions, they forgot the scientific details but remembered the stories. This is “narrative transportation”—a neurological process that helps ideas stick & decisions shift. The bigger the problem, the smaller an individual feels. “Solve climate change” can seem visible but unreachable. People retreat from news they find exhausting, while opponents of climate action exploit this futility to erode momentum. The antidote is not to downplay the crisis, but to scale part of the narrative so people can see the difference they make. Optimism is not naïve—it is an engine for agency. Local action makes results tangible. In the Philippines, communities replanting mangroves can measure shifts in tides & storm protection. In the Comoros, a no-take fishing zone means fuller nets just outside its boundaries. These are not diversions from the bigger fight; they are proof that people respond to challenges they can touch, shape, and witness. Local victories ripple outward, offering blueprints others can adapt. They turn abstractions like “protecting biodiversity” into bringing salmon back to a river or keeping sea turtles nesting on a beach. A steady diet of doom breeds political stagnation. People who believe nothing can be done rarely act. Those who have seen a wetland restored tend to keep showing up. Ortiz’s call is to reframe the vantage point. The global crisis is real, but change grows from local soil. By linking a patch of prairie to global biodiversity or a rooftop solar panel to energy transformation, we make a global problem feel solvable. Global change won’t happen in one leap, but through thousands of small, visible wins that build momentum for systemic shifts. Local victories & systems change are inseparable; each creates space for the other. The outcome is unwritten—but at the human scale, it is possible.

For decades, climate action has often been framed as a choice: Mitigation to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation to help communities withstand worsening floods, storms, droughts, and fires. 💰 Yet, finance for adaptation has lagged far behind. Mitigation attracts most of the investment, while adaptation remains underfunded, leaving communities increasingly exposed to climate risks. But here’s the truth: this divide is misleading. Many solutions already exist that deliver both mitigation and adaptation benefits simultaneously. 🔎 A recent analysis of 300 adaptation investments found that over half also reduced emissions , often with economic value equal to or greater than their resilience benefits. 🌱 Whether it’s silvopasture that sequesters carbon while protecting farmers’ incomes, or mangroves that absorb CO₂ while shielding coastal communities, these are not “either/or” solutions. They are “both/and” — and they are urgently needed. 🚨 With global temperatures dangerously close to thresholds that will unleash even more severe impacts, prioritizing multitasking climate solutions is essential. They make limited finance go further, deliver co-benefits across sectors, and most importantly, improve lives while safeguarding the planet. 👉 Climate action must be designed to serve both goals at once. read the article by World Resources Institute 👇 https://lnkd.in/eMAvraRv

"A third of global GDP could be lost this century, if the #climate crisis were allowed to run unchecked." An upcoming OECD - OCDE | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on the case for enhanced NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) reiterates the #economic realities of investing in #ClimateAction and the cost of inaction. At a time where climate #leadership is arguably more about staying the course and reaffirming commitment, the overview, presented at the at the 2025 Petersberg Climate Dialogue, reminds us of what we know to be true, not the myths that are currently being popularised. Some highlights from the key messages shared in Berlin over the past couple of days: ➡️ "Clean energy markets have rapidly expanded, 𝙛𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙮 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙙... 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝." Setting aside the of shortcomings of leaving 'the market' to drive #ClimateAction, it's important to recognise that a market-based approach still requires #policy intervention is clear and critical. The reality is that the world we currently live in, the norms we have become used to, have all been driven by historic #policy decisions, #investments and #subsidies. The only way we will start to rebalance 'the market' is by addressing, reversing and repositioning those policy settings. ➡️ "A low-carbon economy 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙮." At a time where all organisations are facing pressure to reduce costs and streamline in order to survive, the opportunities of a low-carbon economy, of designing out waste and finding the most efficient use of resources and energy, are broad and wide-ranging. ➡️ "Climate action delivers far-reaching 𝙗𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝘿𝙋 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙩𝙝... Actual benefits could be even greater, as uncertain 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙤 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙨, such as melting ice sheets or reversing circulation patterns in the ocean." Climate action isn't just a carbon play, or an environmental play. Climate action delivers broad benefits, to #health, to energy #security and access, to #poverty reduction.

The second The World Bank's Country Climate and Development Report summary report is out, covering 42 economies. Published CCDRs now cover more than half of the population of low- and middle-income countries, three quarters of their GDP, and two thirds of their GHG emissions and recent disaster losses. And coverage of world tropical forest has increased from 10 to 56 percent this year. The summary report extract CCDR insights. It's main conclusion is that we face a triple development, climate, and nature crisis, and climate action is off track. Countries are not reducing emissions or building resilience fast enough, putting development achievements at risk from climate change.    Beyond the grim headlines, there are also clear opportunities to achieve development and climate double wins. That’s what the World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) intend to capture: identifying opportunities for each country and priorities for investments and reforms.   CCDRs highlight major opportunities to improve people lives, health, and safety while building more resilient economies, where development progress is not reversed by regular crises. They also show that countries can maintain or accelerate development and economic growth while reducing emissions, thanks to synergies ranging from higher energy efficiency, lower cost renewable energy, reduced methane emissions, better air quality and less congested cities. And that protecting and growing forests offers a cost-effective opportunity to keep carbon from the atmosphere, support local communities and reduce climate change. But protecting forests needs to be thoughtfully positioned within wider development efforts and combined with action on agriculture and the rest of the economy. Capturing these opportunities will not be easy. It requires policy changes, large investments, and a proactive role of the private sector to provide capital but also deliver innovation, faster technology adoption, and new business models for resilience and low-emission development. To incentivize the private sector, countries need to develop an appropriate legal and institutional framework and provide adequate concessional resources to mitigate credit, foreign exchange, or market risks when it is needed. Such transformation will also require a clear-eyed approach to the political economy challenges of climate action, bringing communities along into a new climate transition. CCDRs offer a rich layer of climate-informed analysis to boost our engagements with governments, and public and private stakeholders. They help select priorities for country action, the World Bank portfolio and potential financing. They also contribute foundational knowledge to global debates on how to align climate and development, providing substantive guidance to delivering a world free of poverty on a livable planet. https://lnkd.in/ePdCxunA

🌍🔥 Capitalism vs. Climate: The Working Class Holds the Key to Saving Our Planet! Power Dynamics: The climate crisis is a stark representation of the conflict between corporate profit motives and the welfare of the general populace. The article argues for a paradigm shift where the climate movement directly addresses and challenges these power imbalances. This approach moves away from treating the crisis as a purely environmental or scientific issue, framing it as a social and economic struggle against exploitative corporate practice. Global Mobilization: Reflecting on the 2019 global climate strike, the massive global turnout of millions symbolizes the latent power of a united working class. This event demonstrated the potential for collective action to bring about significant social and political change, challenging the status quo and demanding urgent climate action. COVID-19 Impact: The pandemic's disruption of climate activism momentum highlighted a shift towards insider politics. The article critiques this move, suggesting that it diluted the effectiveness of the grassroots movement, which is necessary for substantial change. Legislative Challenges: It emphasizes the obstacles in implementing progressive climate policies like the Green New Deal, noting opposition from both the political establishment and within the Democratic Party. This situation underscores the difficulty of enacting transformative climate legislation within the current political framework. Strategies and Critiques: The piece critiques current climate strategies such as persuading climate deniers with data or implementing carbon taxes. It suggests these methods fail to confront the root cause: the capitalist structures and motivations driving the climate crisis. Decommodification of Energy: Advocating for public ownership of energy sectors, the article proposes a radical overhaul to prioritize environmental sustainability over corporate profits. It connects climate action with material benefits like job creation and improved public infrastructure, suggesting these tangible improvements can galvanize wider public support. Worker Power: The strategic role of workers, particularly in vital sectors like electricity, is emphasized. By leveraging their position, workers can enact significant changes through collective action and strikes, disrupting the profit-driven motives of the energy sector. Challenges Ahead: The article acknowledges the formidable challenge of confronting the capitalist class, which holds substantial investments in the energy sector. It argues for making the utility sector a key battleground in the climate movement, necessitating strategic activism and organization within this industry. #ClimateCrisis #WorkingClassUnity #EnvironmentalJustice #PowerToThePeople Joel Serface Samantha Katz Gillian Marcelle, PhD