Hello World
7 years, 3 months, 12 days, 18 hours
9 April 2022
I have 8 years. You have 8 years. We have 8 years.
How certain and imminent does something need to be, before we care enough to try to avoid it? Those of you who have been members of the KPMG Global Infrastructure community that I led until Monday will know that pretty much every week for four years I have penned, generally on a Friday, a weekly update. That pen has now retired, and I have picked up a new one to write weekly to this community; the family that is all of us involved in or just interested in sustainability.
I am going to do this one slightly differently. I propose to make this weekly update more personal, and focussed on just one or two things that I have encountered or reflected on during that week that I think might be of interest to share.
I am currently 51 years old, and in 2030 I will be 60 and perhaps retired and contemplating more time growing veg. 2030 is coincidentally the target date of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – the manifesto for quality of life for everyone, everywhere. In 2030 we will know if the world has succeeded or failed in its imperative to keep global warming levels to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. So I have 8 years. You have 8 years. We have 8 years.
But actually the carbon budget for 1.5 degrees is already predicted to be exhausted earlier than that: 7 Years, 3 Months, 12 Days, 22 Hours, 41 Minutes. And it is not just about climate. It is also about social cohesion, that is fraying due to inequality, intolerance and brutal inhumanity such as that currently being inflicted on the people of Ukraine. We need to instil some urgency for change. And separate business as usual from what is genuinely, really, life-changingly (if not for you then for sure for the next generation) important.
This week four of our colleagues were at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Liaison Delegate meeting in Montreux, Switzerland. This year we have significantly increased our support to WBCSD, treating it as one of the most important external fora where we can collaborate with other organisations. Because whilst I am sure we can make a difference acting alone, working with others will allow us to drive fundamental change.
7 Years, 3 Months, 12 Days, 18 Hours, 44 Minutes.
And counting.