The COVID crisis can’t be a reason to take our eye off the climate ball | HE JO TYNDALL | TEDxTiESG
The speaker argues that confronting both COVID-19 and climate change requires an exponential, multi-level global economic transformation. The speaker posits that the impacts are already manifest, citing current wildfires and floods as evidence, and encourages collective action by suggesting individual mindset shifts and consumer preferences can drive necessary systemic change. This transition requires global commitment, as evidenced by New Zealand setting a goal for carbon neutrality by 2050 and China committing to neutrality before 2060. ## Speakers & Context - Unnamed speaker; addresses the need for global collective action regarding climate change and COVID-19. - Contextualized against the backdrop of global economic recovery and international agreements. ## Theses & Positions - Both COVID-19 and climate change are global challenges requiring collective action; while they appear different, they share similarities and potential connections, particularly with deforestation. - Climate change respects no national boundaries, unlike the virus, meaning border closures offer no protection against its impacts. - The current economic recovery stimulus spending risks intensifying current unsustainable patterns of behavior if climate action is not prioritized. - The fundamental shift in mindset must begin at the individual level—*"like a stone dropped into your own personal pond and the ripples spreading out from there."* - Prioritizing *stakeholders* over mere *shareholders* puts businesses in a position to succeed in an unstable world. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Carbon Neutrality:** A legislative goal set for New Zealand, aimed at achieving net-zero emissions. - **Just Transition:** The requirement that affected sectors and communities are helped into new opportunities when economies shift away from high-carbon activities. - **ESG Reporting:** Integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance factors into business reporting, driven by investor demand. - **Perverse Incentives:** Financial structures, specifically fossil fuel subsidies, that encourage excessive consumption. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Flattening the curves:** The dual goal of flattening the COVID-19 infection rate curve while simultaneously flattening the climate change curve. - **Economic Transformation:** Requires multiple actions at multiple levels (individual, business, government). - **Climate Signal Mechanisms:** Implementing mandatory carbon-related financial disclosures for specified entities (banks, insurers, investment managers) to guide investment decisions. - **Market Shift:** The transition from "brown to green investments" driven by investor demand. ## Timeline & Sequence - **2015:** Year of the Paris Agreement, which established long-term goals and transparency rules. - **New Zealand's Legislative Goal:** Carbon neutral by **2050**. - **China's Commitment:** Achieving carbon neutrality before **2060**. ## Named Entities - **EU (European Union):** Mentioned regarding a **750 billion euro** recovery package containing green strings. - **OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development):** Demonstrated that the cost of inaction exceeds future-proofing costs. ## Numbers & Data - **750 billion euro:** Amount attached to the EU's recovery package conditional on climate action. - **2015:** Year of the Paris Agreement. - **2050:** New Zealand's target for carbon neutrality. - **2060:** China's commitment target for carbon neutrality. - **50%:** Proportion of the planet that is ocean. - **98%:** Percentage of global imports/exports crossing the ocean. ## Examples & Cases - **Climate Impacts Already Present:** Wildfires in California and Australia, floods in China and India, heat waves in Europe, and droughts in parts of Africa. - **Green Investment Evidence:** The UK and Nordic countries serve as examples showing that transitioning to low carbon does not tank economies. - **New Zealand's Actions:** Amending ETS to ensure price signals, setting up a green investment fund, and mandating carbon disclosures. - **MNCs Embracing ESG:** Multinational corporations adopting ESG reporting due to investor demand. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **State Control vs. Market Mechanisms:** Comparing the effectiveness of national border closures (which fail against climate change) versus economic transformation guided by pricing signals and investment mandates. - **Current Behavior:** The risk of stimulus spending intensifying current consumption patterns versus directing that spending toward climate action. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - **Denial, Delay, and Despair:** These three mindsets are flagged as counterproductive, intensifying the challenge rather than solving it. - **Difficulty of Comprehension:** The difficulty in making the mental leap from *weather* (current event) to *climate* (long-term trend). - **Undermining Factors:** Photos of people frolicking in fountains undermine the perceived severity of the crisis. ## Methodology - Comparison of necessary global actions across multiple spheres: health systems (COVID-19 response) and climate stabilization. - Analysis of international frameworks (Paris Agreement) and national policy tools (ETS amendments, mandatory disclosure). ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The solution requires fitting together existing puzzle pieces: governmental long-term goals, business participation via ESG, and most critically, individual mindset change. - Action must be driven by making climate considerations clear in consumer preferences and investment expectations. ## Implications & Consequences - If collective action fails, the consequence is a "global emissions condemned to an upright trajectory for decades to come." - Economic prosperity must be redefined to prioritize planetary health over short-term, carbon-intensive patterns. ## Verbatim Moments - *"neither covert nor climate change respects national boundaries"* - *"the 3ds of denial delay and despair won't help us"* - *"It's hard to make the mental leap from weather to climate"* - *"the cost of inaction is exponentially higher than any incremental cost of future proofing"* - *"it established long-term goals gave us global rules for being transparent and held to account"* - *"phasing out fossil fuel subsidies that create perverse incentives for excessive consumption"* - *"The green shoots are there and they're growing"* - *"it's like like a stone dropped into your own personal pond and the ripples spreading out from there"* - *"let's rebuild better"*