Transforming Global Conflict #2: Opportunities to Create Change

Innovation is the buzzword of the times. In the information era, good ideas put into action create enormous wealth although they might not create real value. A commentator on a recent article about Steve Jobs was wondering if Apple’s innovative devices had really created new value for the planet, making people happier, societies safer, or ecosystems more vibrant. In fact, quite the opposite could be argued, whereas stress, envy and environmental degradation seem to be additional components to the marvelous built-in, proprietary software inside an iPhone.

Real innovation is the one that brings along systemic change that can be measured as a net positive impact; that the planet, as a whole, is better off with this new idea or device or institution or policy. In order to achieve such stage of virtuous novelty, we must first comprehend the natural constraints of our planet. We will get into detail later. For now, suffice it to say that as long as life on Earth inextricably depends on the conditions for its existence –sunlight, water, and vegetation- these conditions must be respected when thinking about the consequences of our every behavior at a systemic level.

Identifying opportunities for real innovation is an intellectual activity that has become indispensable in this day and age when several ecosystemic measures indicate the breach of some natural limits of the planet. The carrying capacity of the global ecosystem has been overloaded for more than two decades, and today we consume 50% more natural resources than the planet can regenerate on a yearly basis.

These constraints and diagnosis about the state of affairs of the web that supports life are an infinite source for real innovation. Putting our minds together in synergy will render ideas to lead civilization to more prosperous scenarios. 

My encounter with Rajendra Pachauri

Today was special. I attended the International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific and was very surprised to find Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri as keynote speaker at the first plenary session on Green Economy for Sustainable Development. 

The surprise went exponential when I read a separate leaflet from the official program inviting to an interactive session which was a close dialogue with Dr. Pachauri. I thought the room would be packed but easily made my way to the front row in a room that seated 50 but was not even half full. 

After a few questions from young researchers of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), the floor was open to the public and I raised my hand. I told Dr. Pachauri how he gave me the ethical motivation to become vegetarian four years ago. I also made my case about sustainability: human behavior is binary in its consequences on nature, meaning that it can either degrade or regenerate the environment. No human action has zero impact. Which means that, if we want to aspire for sustainability after all the environmental degradation that has occurred for centuries, we should be shifting the paradigm towards more intentional ecosystemic regeneration. In that way, someday we will achieve the hailed sustainability that we preach. Otherwise, trying to simply reduce our negative impact will never really succeed at it. 

His response was on the unofficial side. He joked about me not telling journalists that I became a vegetarian following his advice, which was given in 2008 under a great deal of controversy (suggesting humans could mitigate our carbon emissions significantly by going vegetarian). He then explained how he went from being a meat-eater to a fish-and-seafood eater, and for a while now has been full vegetarian. Unfortunately, he did not refer to the other more technical question. 

Dr. Pachauri is the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the most important scientific institution researching the conflict, being the main source of information for energy and environment policymakers worldwide. He and his institute shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2007 "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change," according to the Nobel Prize Committee in Oslo.