Nigel Topping on “Neither Unrelieved Pessimism nor Sappy Optimism: How to make sense of COP26”
This is one of the rules for truth telling from the great Dana Meadows, one of the authors of the Limits to Growth which turns 50 this year. The outcomes of the Glasgow COP26 had plenty to get to grips with for both pessimists and optimists alike - but how can we avoid choosing one camp and learn to see the truth more clearly and 'resolve to tell the truth about both the successes and failures' and have the 'courage to admit and bear the pain of the present , while keeping a steady eye on a vision of a better future' [Meadows again!].
Nigel Topping is the UN High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26, charged with mobilising all 'non-parties' in support of the implementation of the Paris Agreement, This means in particular working with cities, regions, businesses and financial institutions as well as frequent engagements with young people, indigenous leaders and activists around the world. Working alongside Chilean Gonzalo Munoz and hundreds of partners, Nigel and team created global momentum through the Race to Zero, Race to Resilience, Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero and the Glasgow Breakthroughs. Looking clearly at what actually happened in Glasgow in the context of previous international negotiations and in the context of the stark realities of the climate science helps us to put Donella Meadow's advice into practice. If we want to see systems change, we need to be able to talk truthfully about the state of systems change! [See Nigel's TED Talk here]
Nigel has now
held this position for two years, after 15 years working on how to harness the
forces of global business and finance to deliver climate solutions first with
the Carbon Disclosure Project and then as CEO of We Mean Business.
His time studying at Schumacher College in 2006, the year the Stern Review,
drew the clear link between climate and the economy, which triggered his
transition from working in industry to working on industry.
