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Climate Training with Al Gore

8 April 2014

The latest Summary for policymakers report agreed upon up by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), detailed the causes, effects and solutions to global warming. The IPCC has put forth a text that acknowledges the extent of harm that warming will have, and is having, across the planet.

According to IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri, “Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change.” (Telegraph)

Increasing warnings about the impacts of climate change from some of the most powerful international bodies, including the World Bank whose report Turn Down the Heat in 2012 focused on the cataclysmic results of warming, are reinforcing concerns over the lack of a global action plan. These reports leave one with resounding thoughts of apocalyptic doom. We need to, however, ensure that we are doing something now to change the current course.

In the recent Africa Training for the Climate Reality Project, Al Gore spoke to the nearly 1000 participants calling for us to make active commitments to raise awareness and encourage decision makers to make the shift needed for a clean future. Al Gore took participants through a step by step guide to climate science and how to answer questions from sceptics and environmentalists alike.

Participants at the training included disaster risk strategists, social enterprise developers, business people, students, swop shop organisers, transition town strategists, NGOs, engineers, architects, tree-growers, government officials, and consultants. The handy toolkit provided by Gore and his team was complemented by priceless networking with these diverse individuals.

This three day training gave participants access to knowledge and advice from social media experts, social enterprise developers, climate scientists, politicians, and leading environmental NGOs.

Themes that emerged from the training included: assisting marginalised groups, carbon pricing, disaster risk management, and food security.

Gore has come from a profession of politics but he has ensured he has been educated in climate science in order to use his position to create awareness. His ability to educate others in a dynamic way is one of the biggest strengths of the Climate Reality Training. His presence in the conference room caused so much excitement amongst participants that it was almost tangible.

Participants learnt about networking skills, social media strategies, possibilities for interventions, and more. Importantly, a lesson that emerged from the training was that individuals and organisations should not wait for national governments to implement an international agreement worthy of the task of combating climate change.

I once heard Stan du Plessis, Dean of Stellenbosch University’s Commerce Faculty, and renowned macro economist describing the situation as being stuck in a Prisoner’s Dilemma. We are waiting to see who will make the first move ­- and we are all trapped until someone does.

The Western Cape Government Green Economy is also working towards climate change mitigation with projects such as Smart Grids and Carbon Neutral:

Smart Grids: The large-scale uptake within municipalities of smart grids infrastructure, and embedded generation integrated into such infrastructure, would present new opportunities for economic growth, job creation, improving the efficiency of electricity provision and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon Neutral: To lead by example by offsetting the WCG Department of the Premier’s carbon emissions through purchasing of carbon credits from poverty alleviation projects.

Although the WCG has made a move, there is an understanding that more needs to be done. The effects of climate change in the Western Cape will be extensive and quite brutal, and the largest impact will be upon the poor. We need to ensure that businesses are geared towards climate change mitigation strategies, and promote an economy that is resource efficient and low on carbon emissions. We need to prevent the poorest in the country footing the bill for development.

There is a need for a strong push from individuals, businesses, NGOs and different government departments to ensure that climate change mitigation becomes a core part of our green economy. Networks such as the Climate Reality Corps can prove a great advantage in providing the resources and ideas needed to make shifts in society. Furthermore, while increasingly backed by research from organisations such as the IPCC and the World Bank, this uphill battle will become a little easier.

Picture courtesy of The Climate Reality Project