Jem Bendell's Speech At Un On Climate Emergency | 2018

Climate change has long been a topic of discussion, but recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have brought forth a new perspective. It is no longer just an issue to be addressed within the framework of sustainable development goals; it is now a planetary emergency that poses an existential threat to humanity.

The artist, Barceló, who created the incredible sealing, was inspired by a mirage he witnessed in the Sahel. He saw animals, trees, and people melting into the sky, a dramatic metaphor for the potential consequences of climate chaos. This raises the question: Are we in the human rights room of the UN also facing the terrible possibilities of what climate change could do to our planet and our race?

As our climate spirals away from being friendly to our civilization, we must confront why we have been so incapable of changing our ways collectively at scale. Despite decades of deliberation and initiatives, carbon emissions continue to rise. The reason behind this lack of action lies in the fact that addressing climate change has always been treated as an add-on rather than a starting point for our economic systems.

The Need for Bold Transformation

While conversations often revolve around improving the current global system, I propose something far bolder: the urgent need to transform our economic system. Our current stock markets incentivize company growth and profitability, which often leads to manipulation of consumers and externalization of costs onto society and the environment. However, this is just scratching the surface.

The root cause lies in our monetary system, which is based on privately issued debt. Banks create electronic deposits as interest-bearing loans, and for this system to function normally, more resources must be consumed to generate yields that service those debts. If not, when loans are paid off, our money supply simply dries up.

This system may have worked in the past, but it is no longer sustainable. The climate chaos we face today is nature's response to our hubris in thinking that we could expand indefinitely. It is clear that a systemic redesign of our banking and corporate systems is long overdue. We can no longer afford the complacency of senior leaders who prefer less awkward explanations for our problems.

The Grave Threat to Life on Earth

Self-reinforcing feedback loops have already begun to further warm our planet, threatening to take the future out of our hands. If we continue to cling to delusions of what is pragmatic and appropriate,