What we do next is critical

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

We are in a life and death fight right now with a virus. Smart people and governments are paying attention to the epidemiological science, which informs protocols on hygiene and physical distancing. This has slowed the spread, giving healthcare systems the chance to prepare. (South Africa being a case in point)

However, waiting for us on the other side of this fight is a larger much more dangerous crisis.

As with epidemiology science, climate science is also crystal clear on what we need to do: reduce global emissions by 7.6% every year this decade to avoid a global irreversible catastrophe.

Again we MUST pay attention to the science.

We have been gifted with a season of pause. We need to use this pause to ask a very simple but profound question of all our businesses: “How can we decouple revenue generation from the need to burn fossil fuels?”

We ALREADY have the technology to do this in many cases. We can start by permanently ending office commutes, radically reducing business air travel and making sure if we do need a building that it’s run on clean energy.

The unintended consequences of our Covid-19 fight will likely result in a 5% emission reduction this year. Let’s build on this. We have no time to lose.