lamiallblue

I think the whole COP process needs a do-over, and fast. Not just setting targets and making pledges, but figuring out what happens after we’ve already missed those targets. Of course that’s easier said than done, and we don’t want to make it seem like mitigation and adaptation efforts are futile because we won’t make it anyway. Rather, we need to be made to feel the urge to do even more. It’s uncomfortable for sure to admit we’re at the forefront of disaster, but the sooner we admit it and act upon it, the more comfortable and reassured we will be in the near future when disaster strikes.

COP30, being hosted in Brazil of all places, should be centered around adaptation, loss & damage, and climate justice. These can no longer be side conversations, these need to be the main agenda. Also, carbon removal and geoengineering aren’t abstract ideas anymore. They’re coming, and they need real governance. Who’s in charge? Who benefits? Who bears the risks?

I’ve never agreed with the notion that there’s beauty in grief. Grief is not beautiful. Grief is pain. Grief is heart wrenching. Having said that, last week’s performance opened up a new dimension of thought for me. Yes grief is not beautiful, but hope is. Artists and storytellers are doing something that technical data cannot achieve - they are giving form to our despair. They are validating these complex emotions we ourselves cannot fully comprehend, and in doing that they are opening up a space for presence, vulnerability, and raw honesty. People like the Zero Omissions Theatre Company are teaching us how to find comfort in uncertainty, feel fear without being consumed by it, and maybe even how to hope.

What I find really beautiful about social media algorithms is that they really know who we are and what we believe in. It has the power to connect like minded people, and in the fight against climate change, this power is essential. Our class discussion emphasized how forming alliances across industries can create real change. I loved how Katherine Hayhoe said that her Christian faith drives her climate work because religion is rooted in love - that resonated with me deeply. Climate change, at its core, is a failure to love and care for one another.