SW News 24

Scaling the solutions

Change happens slowly, and then all at once. But it rarely happens by accident.

There are many things about the 'wicked' problem of climate change that make it difficult for human beings to solve: its complexity, its global nature, its too distant timeframe, and so on. One thing we are not lacking, however, is knowledge of what the solutions are. We know the solutions that will deliver a sustainable future. They are all there in front of us. Most of them are available already, others are in the works. In solving the problem of climate change, the challenge is not what are the solutions?...but rather how do we scale the solutions. Exponentially?

This idea of exponential change is a fascinating one. What does it look like? And how do you create the conditions to make it happen? Enter: the Exponential Roadmap initiative which brings together some of the world’s leading climate solutionists to tell us the answer. Their work draws on Project Drawdown (one of SW’s go to info sources) and insights from Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. The first Exponential Roadmap, launched in 2018, describes 36 solutions with exponential scaling potential to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The second, launched in September 2022, hones in on a sub-set of those solutions – nature-based solutions (linked to agriculture, forestry and other land uses) that can play a critical role in stabilising the climate. Both reports lay out in very clear and easy to understand terms how we scale for exponential positive change. When you see it set out in black and white it's both exciting and daunting.

All of our efforts must now be focused on deploying and scaling these climate solutions faster than we have ever done before. The next decade must see the fastest economic transformation in history. Think of the creation and scaling of the Covid-19 vaccine, but x10…or even x100. Everyone has a role to play, from policymakers, to business and finance leaders, to citizens and grass roots movements. The clock is ticking but the solutions are there. As Sir David Attenborough said recently: “We can do it. We must do it.” And fast.

To read the rest of this newsletter and other past editions, and to subscribe to get future editions delivered to your inbox each month, sign up here!