Module 9
'I think I'm scared, but I'm hopeful. I walked pretty blindly I feel like for most of my life. Kind of almost paralyzed by fear because I see everything going on around me.'
CLIMATE JUSTICE
Module transcript for discussion >>>
Climate history is catching up with us today, and those excluded from the conversation about our climate future need to be a part of the process going forward. They need a voice...
'Well-meaning people come in with "we have all of the answers", instead of really leaning into the work and saying "I need to first understand the problem I'm trying to solve'. Which is empathizing, meaningful conversations, gathering facts and then not assume that I know the answer, and allow the problem to be defined by the community inhabitants and then to have a colloborative partnership on how we reach the solution.'
'It's hard for me to be excited about the future, and I think I've realized a lot in my life that if people are still getting Instagram followers and still get 2-day delivery from Amazon, they're okay, they're happy. They don't care about anything else.
So, do we sit back and watch this catastrophe play out, or do we - humanity - do something about it?
'Coming from a small island nation, I'm very much aware of the vulnerabilities that coastal communities, for example, face, and how the impacts are disproportionate.
When we speak about climate-based restoration, it is not just a nice-to-have for these communities, it's one of the most pressing needs because they have so many values attached to the ocean and coastal ecosystems.'
'I had this most wonderful opportunity to be in COP 28 in Dubai in the audience with a lady, the United Nations Ambassador to the Island of Palau. They're a nation of atolls in the South Pacific. In an incredibly eloquent speech, where she said "for my people, 1 or 2 meters of sea level rise is not a case of losing a bit of beach, it is a case of losing our country.'
What kind of discussions have your community or country been involved with, about addressing climate change and the effects of warming?
What active climate groups are there in your community?
In the near future, Palau will no longer be habitable due to sea level rise. Learn about how Palau is addressing its future
Local context >>>
'And for people like this, they need to have a very significant seat at the table in terms of determining firstly, our research pathway into the technologies that we might be developing, and then secondly, also looking at potential deployment.'
'Justice is a big one. When we're implementing different innovations and solutions, especially if we're going to be talking about deploying a different innovation or technology and scale, we want to make sure that the communities where the innovation is going to be deployed in, are being involved with at the beginning, not just when the science or technology is ready.'
'But making sure that these communities are involved at the conception phase. A lot of these communities impacted the most by climate change, have been protecting these critical ecosystems for centuries and we want to make sure their voices are being heard.'
