This article was written by Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International and one of Apolitical’s 100 most influential climate leaders. For more like this, see our environmental policy newsfeed.

As we live through this unprecedented climate crisis — a crisis that threatens our very survival as a species — I think of the words of Einstein: "in moments of crisis, only imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Climate change is the most visible symptom of a disconnect felt at the core of our societies, environment and spirits. And as with any symptom of imbalance or oppression, it is the most vulnerable and poorest communities who will be — and are already — affected the most.

We must address this crisis in a holistic way that connects the dots between ecological, cultural, and social and economic equity.

I envision a three-pronged revolution that not only saves us from extinction, but also leads us to fairer, happier and more sustainable societies, and this revolution is already underway in many places around the world.

First, we need an ecological revolution. We have to stay within our planetary boundaries. If we want to survive, nothing is more urgent than keeping global temperatures to 1.5 degrees C and stopping the rapid loss of biodiversity. The changes we are currently experiencing are potentially irreversible. We must deliver a systemic shift to 100% sustainable renewable energy and move away from dirty fossil fuels like coal and oil while protecting critical ecosystems like our forests and oceans.

Secondly, we need a power revolution: we must shift the power from the elite to the many.

A logical place to start shifting that power is in our economy. We can transition from an extractive, growth-based, profit-driven economic model to an economy that is people-driven.

One might think that we have a long distance to travel before these revolutions are underway, but change is already happening

This new economy will be characterised by participatory processes, transparency, open-source technologies and cooperative-driven business models. Those who create the value will also benefit from and own the value. This economy will promote the equitable distribution of wealth, sustainable social networks and wellbeing, and it will work for the many instead of the few. It will transition away from consumerism and a throw-away culture to operate within ecological limits while respecting all existing life on this planet.

Thirdly comes a mindset revolution, where societal mindsets that have a negative effect on our environment and daily lives, such as “greed is good”, “individualism is best”, or “nature is simply a source of profit”, are replaced with mindsets that are essential to empower people and achieve and maintain a green and peaceful world, like “connection”, or “optimism”.

Changing a dominant mindset is one of the most powerful ways to impact a system, build agency and reverse trends in unsustainable consumption and production. If we can redefine our quality of life by challenging common notions of what is a “basic right” and an “aspirational life”, as well as increasing collective responsibility for each other, this will help reduce the polarisation of societies and enable our collective ability to reach a green and peaceful future. ​

Urban leadership

One might think that we have a long distance to travel before these revolutions are underway, but change is already happening — and not just in the progressive power of the youth movements, although what is happening there is transformational.

We just need to look closer at some cities to see a realised vision of where we are heading and what we need to push for.

Cities are dynamic incubators. They are central power and culture hubs where local and global struggles connect, more and more people have a sense of agency over their lives and where culture, lifestyles and trends are shaped. And while global political and corporate leaders talk in circles, there are vibrant, people-powered revolutions unfolding in cities all over the globe.

For example, as major urban areas become increasingly aware of their role in shaping not only mindsets but also national and international policies, cities are taking the lead by declaring local climate emergencies. Although these symbolic declarations need to translate into bold public policies to drastically reduce carbon emissions, city networks such as C40, ICLEI, Milan Urban Food Policy Pact and Urban 20 are truly acting as change multipliers, triggering city-to-city peer pressure to adopt ambitious political agendas to reach zero emissions.

The urban leadership doesn’t stop there. Innovative business models like platform cooperativism, repairing networks and “design global, manufacture local” on demand production are also emerging in urban areas cities and disrupting business as usual.

Some cities are even adopting innovative open platforms to design, approve and enforce local policies. Montevideo’s City Open-Data policy is spurring on the development of new apps that provide public transport timetables, reveal how taxes are spent or maps that facilitate commuting by bike.

In Barcelona, an open online tool for citizen participation in transparent, collaborative decision-making is engaging residents in developing actions that address climate resilience.

It is also in cities where many new and innovative socio-economic initiatives and breakthrough technologies emerge. When used fairly, and within our planetary boundaries, these breakthrough technologies such as AI, Blockchain, Internet of Things and 3D printing have huge potential to creatively disrupt the socio-economic system by enabling more evenly distributed value creation, methods of exchange and democratic participation.

Collective mobilisation enabled by new technologies will make it much harder for global leaders and governments to ignore the climate crisis

Blockchain, for example, is an enabling technology that allows transactions without a central authority. Blockchain-based technologies, when used for the right purposes, are transparent, hold users accountable and evenly distribute power, with Blockchain smart grids capable of providing renewable energy to those without energy access.

In 2015, a community in Brooklyn started with the goal of creating self-sustaining microgrids and a peer-to-peer marketplace for distributed energy built on Blockchain.

As a result, they’ve created an alternative system that localises their energy system, promotes prosumerism, where the line between passive consumers and active producers is abolished, and renewable energy, and showcases the possibilities of a revolutionised energy market and a new "normal" that could extend far beyond the urban sprawl and have implications for rural communities around the world.

Uniting climate movements

The potential in this distribution of power is enormous!

As people and urban movements shift societal conversations and connect their demands to the climate urgency by increasing national ambition on emission reductions, communities are strengthened. Stronger communities mean more resilience.

Collective mobilisation enabled by new technologies will make it much harder for global leaders and governments to ignore the climate crisis and the impacts many are already suffering from across the world.

2020 is going to be a decisive year and watching these trends I feel positive about what we — the people and the movement — can do if we build on the transformations already taking place and work towards larger-scale societal shifts together.

However, to get there, we will need people to be engaged in changing the rules of the system and holding current decision makers in government and business accountable for the damages they have caused. Without more people, the power shift needed will be impossible to achieve - so let’s all get to work! — Jennifer Morgan

(Picture credit: Death to the stock photo)

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