193. Momentum VS Perfection: The Biggest Question in Climate Right Now? (Part Two)
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast
Persephonica
4.7 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 23 March 2023
⏱️ 84 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome back to part two of the mini-series Momentum vs Perfection!
This week Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith deepen their exploration of the tensions in the climate movement outlined in episode one, and look to see how we might begin to move past the current impasse to accelerate action in this decisive decade.
Journey with Tom, Fiona and their guests as they seek to answer the burning questions that they hope might unlock a trajectory to collaborative, joyful action. Some of these questions include:
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Is a rebuilding of trust and understanding among the different actors key?
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What part does the ‘moveable middle’ play on the spectrum of momentum and perfection.
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How do we ensure inclusivity and engagement of those whose voices are not currently represented in the wider movement?
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How do these divisions present in the corporate world where the sense of urgency is well embedded but transition to action is hesitant?
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What role can impartial actors and data play in pushing forward the momentum and perfection agendas?
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Can the capitalist spirit ever be used as a force to accelerate change as long as it is rooted in good intention?
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Is connection and personal relationships key to building the sense of common purpose and approach we need now?
Helping Tom and Fiona to answer these questions is an incredible line-up of guest speakers:
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Justin Forsyth, Co-Founder Count Us In, a radical collaboration of business, faith, sport, and civil society to inspire a billion people to take climate action.
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Farhana Yamin, Lawyer/Author/Activist & Keynote Speaker. Farhana is an internationally recognized environmental lawyer, climate change and development policy expert. She works part time at the Doc Society coordinating the Climate Reframe Project which seeks to amplify the voice of climate activists and experts from racialized minorities in the UK environment movement.
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Peter Bakker, President & CEO WBCSD, the global CEO-led community of the world’s leading sustainable businesses working collectively to accelerate the system transformations needed for a net zero, nature positive, and equitable future.
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Sister True Dedication, Zen Buddhist monastic teacher in Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village Community
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Prof Helen Pankhurst CBE. CARE International, MMU, UOS. Senior Advisor at international humanitarian agency CARE International, women’s rights activist, and the direct descendant of Emmeline Pankhurst and Sylvia Pankhurst, both leaders in the suffragette movement
NOTES AND RESOURCES
To learn more about our planet’s climate emergency and how you can transform outrage into optimistic action subscribe to the podcast here.
Learn more about the Paris Agreement.
Fiona McRaith, Manager, Engagement & Delivery and Special Assistant to the President & CEO, Bezos Earth Fund
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Justin Forsyth
LinkedIn | Twitter Count Us In
LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram
Peter Bakker
WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development
Sister True Dedication
LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Helen Pankhurst, women’s rights activist and Senior Advisor, CARE International
Learn more about Pankhursts’s great-grandmother Emmeline Pankhurst and grandmother Sylvia Pankhurst, both leaders in the suffragette movement.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We're back for our second episode in our mini-series exploring some of the tensions we have |
| 0:21.4 | observed in the climate movement and how to move to accelerate action in this decisive |
| 0:25.9 | decade. Thanks for being here. |
| 0:36.5 | So Fiona, it's great to be back here. We too with you and just to pick up where we were |
| 0:40.8 | at the end of the last episode. I felt that we were sort of verified in our perspective |
| 0:46.1 | that both of these approaches holding fast to what we know is important and also adapting |
| 0:51.4 | to be practical and make progress when we need to are both important and people kind |
| 0:55.9 | of saw that and something resonated with everybody that we spoke to and also the many messages |
| 1:00.9 | we've had since this podcast went out last week. But there was also agreement that this |
| 1:05.3 | slows us down but then from some people that maybe disagreement is inevitable and maybe |
| 1:10.7 | not too much of a problem. So I think I'm beginning episode two if anything more confused |
| 1:16.5 | but at a higher level than I was before we started episode one. So I wonder why you are? |
| 1:21.7 | I live in a state of perpetual confusion so I'm glad we can contribute to that. |
| 1:30.7 | No, I mean I think it's something that's becoming more clear to me is that the confusion |
| 1:36.7 | is also part of it. The part of the solution is perhaps being comfortable with not fully |
| 1:42.6 | understanding or seeing the through line though of course that's so contrary to what |
| 1:46.6 | we might seek and honestly that's contrary to what we've set out to do so. So I'm certainly |
| 1:53.2 | I'm in the same boat Tom. I don't know if it's contrary though because I mean I think |
| 1:57.1 | one thing that I picked up from the first episode from people like Adam Cahane and others |
| 2:01.5 | is that just dwelling with the apparent dichotomy this different helps us. That's kind of |
| 2:06.7 | how we move beyond it to try and solve this in the world by controlling people to approach |
| 2:11.1 | things in a particular way is probably a fool's errand but understanding it, dwelling |
... |
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