Extraction, extraction, extraction.

Vast tracts of homeland in the global south are pillaged to sustain the global north’s lifestyle, at the expense of the complex ecosystems, Indigenous peoples and other citizens of the global south who live there. Lands are overtaken to grow mono-cultured crops and raise livestock that stock the global north’s grocery shelves and restaurants, in excessive and wasteful proportions. Lands across the planet are polluted and stripped to extract raw materials, while factories are built to produce low-quality, disposable goods (frequently with horrendous human and environmental impacts) – all in order to fuel our consumption-centric lifestyle. In her article on ecological footprints, Jennie Moore provides data on the average urban ecological footprint for different countries, indicating that it would take more than four planet earths to sustain the average urban Canadian lifestyle (2015, p. 4749, p.4751). Myself and everyone in my network are on the consuming end of this transaction, and we are rarely called on to consider our place in this highly destructive and inequitable economic system. Although colonialism and capitalism are now sometimes brought up as root causes for climate change (and have been named by Indigenous activists for a long time), how often do we as global north consumers think concretely about our very personal, very tangible complicity in that system? We may buy products that are fair trade or more sustainably produced, but are we prepared to significantly reduce our consumption altogether and to make drastic lifestyle changes in order to respect planetary boundaries? As an example, an average of “96% reduction in motor vehicle ownership” is required in urban areas, in order to live within planetary boundaries (Moore, 2015, p. 4757). To what extent do we take into consideration our fair consumption of resources when planning for adaptation in the global north, and to what extent are our climate action plans, for example encouraging the switch to personal EVs, perpetuating a way of life that is in and of itself totally unsustainable? These questions are vitally important and yet in my experience as a citizen of the global north, they are far too rarely part of discussion.

During RRU’s Climate Week, both Eriel Tchekwie Deranger in the Indigenous Climate Action: Decolonizing Solutions presentation and Dr. Vanessa Andreotti during the Climate, Complexity and Relational Accountability session drew attention to these fundamental but under addressed issues (Royal Roads University, 2023). In her presentation, Dr. Andreotti describes “4 socially sanctioned denials (including) 1) the denial of systemic violence and complicity in harm: the fact that our comforts, securities and enjoyments … happen at the expense of other people, species and the land (and) 2) the denial of the limits of the planet – the fact that the planet cannot sustain exponential growth and consumption indefinitely” (Royal Roads University, 2023, 14:11). These denials are also part of the graphical representation of the house of modernity that Dr. Andreotti shared – a house that is built on extraction, exploitation and inequity and that is completely unsustainable given planetary boundaries (Royal Roads University, 2023, 23:11). What I wonder is why are these topics not focused on more substantially in climate action, and what are the psychological barriers preventing many of us from centering them in our conversations and our climate work?

               For myself, the answer to the above question is fear. In our Accelerator workshops during Climate Week we discussed ‘soft reform’, ‘radical reform’ and ‘beyond reform’ as potential pathways for addressing climate change (personal communication, December 7, 2023). I am undeniably drawn to ‘beyond reform’ change, where those of us living within the ‘house of modernity’ acknowledge that it is a flawed construct that cannot support a healthy planet for all, so we must completely dismantle it and adopt other dramatically different ways of being and living (personal communication, December 7, 2023). I know that this is the most hopeful path and it’s the future I want for myself, my children and future generations. I am open to making radical changes to my way of life in support of this approach. That said, when it comes to focusing my career on this path and having conversations about it within my networks, I’m confronted with fears. I’m scared of not being taken seriously – that this is an unattainable goal and that my credibility will be weakened if I promote lofty and unrealistic ideals. It is also a fear of wasting precious time – this crisis needs every moment it can harness and I fear that type of transformative change will take too long to be adopted by the majority of the global population, especially by the highest consuming citizens. I suspect that many other climate activists and climate professionals harbour similar fears; I would be interested to hear in the comments to this blog post about what, if anything, holds you back from embracing ‘beyond reform’ change.

When describing the work of the GTDF collective, Dr. Andreotti described that it involves expanding “our collective capacity and stamina to face difficulty and pain and navigate complicity and complexity, without feeling overwhelmed, immobilized, demanding quick fixes or to be rescued from discomfort and without drowning in sadness, anger, frustration, guilt or shame” (Royal Roads University, 2023, 8:58). In addition to fear, these aptly summarize the internal challenges that I’m grappling with right now. How should I focus on the deep and lifelong work of unlearning and decolonizing my perspective without being paralyzed into inaction? How can I tame my temptation to rush for solutions to the climate crisis and to seek quick fixes? How can I sit with the discomfort and ‘stay with the trouble’ of these wickedly complex and overlapping crises, while still making a positive contribution to this work? How do I want to embrace soft, radical and/or beyond reform change in my praxis? As I reflect on my takeaways from RRU’s climate week and plan for the next steps in my learning journey, these are the learnings that feel most salient for me and that I hope to build capacity and stamina for.

References

Moore, J. (2015). Ecological Footprints and Lifestyle Archetypes: Exploring Dimension s of Consumption and the Transformation Needed to Achieve Urban Sustainability. Sustainability. 7, 4747-4763; doi:10.3390/su7044747  

Royal Roads University. (2023, December 5). Royal Roads University Climate Week – Climate, Complexity and Relational Accountability – Climate, Complexity and Relational Accountability. [recorded presentation]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBvcR2H-L_0&list=PL_F04p4cdLDn7tAHaktAaKlGqjFt_Fxr5&index=3&t=3234s