A New Perspective

Written By Pier Veller

Climate change is the defining story of our time, and how we handle the next decade could make history or break the earth. 

A key antagonist in this tale is misinformation. As most stories go, the lines between the heroes and villains are often unclear, and it's up to the audience to follow the facts and deduce who's who. 

By misleading rhetoric, it’s effortless to induce doubt about climate change in the public, as many reliable sources are limited due to academic paywalls. Big tech's algorithms further heighten the spread of junk science by pushing viral misinformation to thousands, if not millions, of people.

On Twitter, #climatescam is a trending hashtag, and fake news accounts are awarded blue ticks, resulting in a broad spectrum of “verified” disinformation. False truths have been updated for a modern audience, and social media giants are profiting from the manufactured doubt. 

Fair-minded, educated people are caught off guard, swept up in the tornado of fear, aggression, and misguided logic. This leads to 20% of the globe believing climate change is a minor threat, and 9% think it's not a threat at all. 

The topic of fake news is so dangerous that in 2022 the UN flagged it as delaying climate action. Even if you aren't tricked, misinformation can slow down support for the work that decides our futures. And it's not just humanity's future we should consider. 

Our increasing numbers and activities mean biodiversity has nearly halved since the 70s. Our rapid urbanisation and technological expansions are attacking the boundaries between modern civilisation and animal-kind. 

Why is this such a significant issue? First, there is the undeniable fact that we share this globe, having evolved alongside today's animals for hundreds of thousands of years. 

Second, even if we could theoretically remove all anthropogenic CO2, we still face a catastrophic decline in biodiversity.

A pioneering study recognises that natural biogeochemical processes within terrestrial and marine ecosystems remove up to 50% of all human-caused CO2 emissions annually. The study concludes that rewilding our planet is instrumental in helping hold climate warming within 1.5°C. 

If nature were to collapse, the total emissions of the globe would subsequently rise to apocalyptic levels. Purely by existing, animals do more than humans to protect our world. 

But we are losing nature at an exponential rate. Since 1970, an average decrease of 68% in population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish has occurred. Parallel to that, humanity’s population has exploded from 3.7 to 8 billion, yet world hunger has decreased by 20%, putting an additional strain on natural resources.

As our population grows and our nature diminishes, we must learn how to work regeneratively with our ecosystems to combat hunger. 

According to WWF, natural assets (natural capital) are hugely important to our economy and are valued at $125 trillion annually. Biodiversity loss is not just a climate change concern; it affects human health, livelihoods, and food security. If we are careless, we could face a triple crisis. 

Positively, these threats are recognised at a governmental level. Since 1992, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have worked hard to combat human interference with nature and the climate. 

International agreements such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (tackling the causes of biodiversity loss worldwide, climate change, and pollution) and the Paris Agreement (limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C) provides guides, targets, and goals for nations to follow to protect and improve the current global threat. 

Humans, nature, and animals are interconnected; we depend on each other to survive. We cannot deny that we are losing biodiversity rapidly, and if we aren't careful and mindful, a major extinction will occur. If this were to happen, a worst-case scenario would be unavoidable. 

As the UNFCCC’s Executive Secretary, Simon Stiell, notably said this year: “Colleagues. We are at a crossroads. We are presented with an opportunity of a generation.”

We all now stand at that crossroads where we must decide; are we the heroes or the villains in our planet's story?

Pier Veller
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Is Storytelling enough to solve the climate and biodiversity crises?