I did my Terra.do Climate Change: Learning for Action course in 2023, and I was assigned to visualise a world where we’ve resolved the climate crisis and write about how that world would look.
The Prompt
Imagine that it is 2040, the world has largely resolved the climate crisis, and you have been invited back to the Terra.do online community to share about your role in helping make that happen. Follow the prompts to create a blog post about yours and the world’s trajectory between 2023 and 2040.
Here is the Keynote Speech I have written for it:
Hello Terra.do family!
After seventeen years since I joined the community, it is an honour to be with you at the Global Greening Summit. 2040 is a great year to commemorate the work we have collectively done towards bettering our planet.
Decentralised, convenient supply-chain ecosystem
We live in an age where smart, sustainable tech is integral to everything, so we are mindful of what we consume, what we waste and what needs our urgent attention. We decentralised service stations, pop-up shops, mobile shops, and thrift stores for everything: getting food, groceries or medicines. We can dispose of waste, donate items small to large (as someone can pick them up at our doorstep), charge our vehicles, access public toilets, refill our water, and get support if we are lost at a nearby kiosk.
Social and environmental Equity
We all have access to clean air, safe drinking water, and nutrient-rich and unadulterated food thanks to all the innovation we have done here to handle water and food scarcity. We are equipped with many rural and urban farmers. The community can grow its food through climate-controlled indoor and outdoor farms. We have understood how to take from nature without abusing it and how to incorporate regenerative practices. We have solved all intersectional issues, and people on the frontlines of climate change were compensated and attended to by the world governments in time. Even if environmental disasters or threats exist, stakeholders solve those in time without many casualties.
Inclusive and sustainable infrastructure
We have more smart, green buildings, skyscrapers and townships. The public infrastructure (schools, hospitals, recreation centres, parks, etc.) is inclusive, considering people with various disabilities. We don’t see any homeless, destitute or needy people on the roads. We have more assisted homes for seniors, orphanages, and pet and homeless shelters. We don’t see encroachers as everyone has a dignified job and a role to play here since we have created tech to handle menial labour. Our urban infrastructure is more planned and green. It allows people of all ages to commute, exercise, bird-watch, rest, play or enjoy the outdoors safely and independently. People now love to go outside and interact with others more or enjoy the greenery. We have more pockets of Miyawaki forests, parks and green landscapes. All urban infrastructure is planned, keeping disaster prevention and mitigation in mind.
Public Safety and Happiness
We see police officers more as helpers – since tech tracks us, they have their jobs easy. Mobile medical units are stationed everywhere for any help one may need when one is outside. It is safe for women to be outside even late at night or odd hours because we have our neighbour patrols (armed with tech) to help people out. More therapy and rehabilitation centres exist, and stigmas associated with disabilities or minorities are drastically reduced.
Cruelty, war and crimes are low because we have stringent laws and cooperation among world governments. Ready helplines are available if any violations happen. Bribery and corruption are down due to transparent policies and procedures. Civic action and governance are high, and the law and governments handle grievances time-sensitively.
Transportation
We have safe, emission-free, sustainable, and inclusive transportation for all people and pets: buses, trains, planes, air taxis, cycles, bikes, and leg and knee scooters.
My Future
I am staying at a farmhouse (an earthship) surrounded by a food forest in India. My pet dog runs around the house.
I have a walking and hiking trail nearby, and that is when I catch up with my neighbours and enjoy nature while I have a short exercise while listening to music.
My place is plastic-free, and we treat waste mindfully. People can go to the office quickly, as we have safe and multiple stress-free ways to commute to different places. Many have their workstations at home or near homes. People work their favourite jobs: farmers, aquatic specialists, waste workers, chefs, designers, artists, and educators. This place is a utopian town like Galt’s Gulch.
I played the role of an activist by bringing all social and environmental issues to the fore. As a result, I got more grassroots research into the limelight. For example, I uncovered colour-washing and unethical practices behind the scenes in various industries.
The company I established, ecoHQ, was an ecosystem enabler. It promoted eco- and socio-conscious initiatives and organisations to the public. ecoHQ dealt with sustainability communications and strategic business consulting. It encouraged organisations to practice sustainability, follow compliances, find the correct stakeholders to collaborate and partner with to become more sustainable and communicate the same to the public through the proper channels.
I was good at creative strategy and mentoring/guiding people so they could become sustainability professionals. I could work with people with various constraints and disabilities. They wanted more career autonomy and independence instead of working full-time. They liked to be multi-professionals (musicians, art therapists, urban farmers, graphic designers, and sustainability consultants, all simultaneously).
I knew how to run a flexible, unique, new-age organisation free of hierarchies, designations or labels. I leveraged such people’s skills to design creative services for my clients as I knew the future would thrive on the gig economy and evolving work landscapes.
I acquired financial, legal, and business skills. I learned how to run a value-based business with good profits and direct a decent amount to community development while providing adequately for myself and my stakeholders.
The biggest challenges I faced were corruption, bribery, dishonesty, and unethical people running organisations in the space of social and environmental impact. However, in time, I understood how to discern such organisations. I audited my organisation after learning from my failures and improved it to amplify my impact through advocacy.
My biggest allies were my family, friends, mentors, and advisors. In addition, a few consultants who had joined me in my early years supported me through my journey. Finally, others who believed in my vision assisted me through the rough times.
I want to continue my work until I am able to make a sustainable impact.
Credits
This article is written by Deepa Sai, the founder of ecoHQ
The pictures were generated through Pixelgen by ecoHQ and hold the copyrights to the same.