Why we just can’t go back to “normal”

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.

Prior to Covid, we were on a completely unsustainable trajectory.

Our consumption habits — unsustainable
Our transportation — unsustainable
Our energy use — unsustainable
Our cities – unsustainable

The science has been crystal clear on all this for decades. COVID is simply a symptom of a far deeper problem – our systematic destruction of the systems that support life on earth.

We have to change course. Will we?

“The traumatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic holds important lessons regarding our response to the biodiversity [and climate] crisis. On one hand, it has provided a shocking demonstration of the link between our treatment of the living world and the emergence of human diseases.

“On the other hand, the response of governments and people around the world has demonstrated society’s capacity to take previously unimaginable steps, involving huge transformations, solidarity and multilateral effort in the face of an urgent common threat. As we emerge from the immediate impacts of the pandemic, we have an unprecedented opportunity [to make these changes permanent].” — António Guterres Secretary-General, United Nations