All’s OK: We do HAVE ‘The Right Goals’ for ‘The Right Success’
No matter which way one looks at it, our ‘Climate’ Problem is a Global One.
As such, it needs the Right Global Goals with appropriate Right Global Metric for the attainment of a Right Global Vision of Global Success.
For those all to be “Right”, they must all be aligned on solving, THE Problem today: That being the Fundamental existential problem confronting Humanity today.
The highest level ‘Global ‘Goals’ today come out of the UN IFPCCC process.
These are almost exclusively Carbon Emission based, and thus using a Goal and a metric that capture only part of the problem, and so cannot be ‘Right’.
However even if accepting a Carbon Emission based target as Right, the targets we are using are ‘Not Right’ for that problem’s solution.
One only has to follow the UN IPCC process to know that the so called Paris Agreement goals did not come about from a Goal of Global Success, but rather a process of give and take power bargaining that started with some, ‘deemed acceptable’, temperature rise, linked Carbon Emission target. One that then has been progressively watered down in negotiation.
The Paris Agreement is now seen as THE reference Goals for Success, yet as laid out above they are way off what is truly required to avoid eventual catastrophe.
However as laid out at the start, THE Problem is being treated as just one of Carbon Emissions, and with the focus on the Paris Agreement reference goals, this focus only on emissions is distracting focus on what The Real problem is: That of ‘Holistic Sustainability’.
The Right Goal
The Right Goal is one that goes beyond Carbon Emissions and aligns with the holistic sustainability requirements for human existence on planet Earth.
That being the prevention of the progressive depletion of ALL the natural resources needed to sustain human life, while also ensuring a ‘naturally stable’ and vibrant Earth, in all its biodiversity.
Today, ‘The World’ is in a 70% in ‘Biocapacity Deficit’! 1970 was the last time ‘The World’ was in ‘Biocapacity Balance’, and even with all the ‘good work’ and promises, going on around the world, this deficit continues to grow every day. From the 2018 BP World Energy report: “Primary energy consumption growth averaged 2.2% in 2017, up from 1.2% last year and the fastest since 2013. Carbon emissions from energy consumption also increased by 1.6%”.
‘The Real Problem’, is this chronic, Global Biocapacity Deficit, crisis, and in seeking solutions for Climate Change (a Symptom), action must be directed towards the ‘root cause’ of ‘The Real Problem’:
The ‘Root Cause’ lies deep in the heart of the western world’s, core socio-economic system. A system where ever-increasing wealth accumulation is ‘The Ultimate Goal’ and ever-increasing debt ‘The Means’! This debt being pervasive across financial, biocapacity, and intergenerational morality, accounts. Beyond these critical debt issues, increasing wealth inequality, concerning health and welfare indicators, and increasing level of general global dissent, are all prevalent. Focusing on each of these ‘symptoms’ as separate problems, will miss their ‘Root Cause’.
It should be clear that the core Socio-Economic ‘System of The World’ is ultimately the ‘Root Cause’. It is deeply flawed and until the flaws are addressed, eliminating that Biocapacity Deficit and solving Climate Change, will remain an ever-distant mirage.
Given the chronic Biocapacity Deficit, and its direct connection to almost every one of the symptoms and debt accounts above, it should be crystal clear that ‘sometime between now and 2050’, our scarce Biocapacity will become the new ‘Wealth Goal’, and rather than Debt accounts, Biocapacity Credit, ‘The Means’.
For this to happen the current socio-economic system of the world will have to go through a radical transformation and look very different from that of today: It will be ‘Bio-Capacity Centred’.
In the context of above, it is clear, that the future ‘Ultimate Goal‘ of ‘The World’, and all nations must move to a Biocapacity metric, beyond GDP, or any other currently used ‘Ultimate Goal‘, metric. Moving to this new metric and with a standard based on an urgent moral imperative, nations will be forced to transform from their current Economic / Financial Wealth Centred, socio-economic systems, to a Biocapacity Centred, ones. The Global Footprint Network’s, Ecological Footprint in Global Hectares or GHa is an example of a Biocapactity centred metric.
The increasing acute symptoms of Climate Change are showing that the time is ‘beyond well-nigh’ for this global transformational of ‘The System’, yet ‘The World’ remains intransigent in fear of this unknown and the lack of the leadership vision to transform
A One Point Zero goal based on the GHa metric above,is the very minimum that meets that criteria. Ie We live within the finite, bio-regenerative resources of our One planet. In fact, the safe goal is one that would be a Zero Point Eight or less goal. Read more here.
Global Goal Alignment: Nationally and Within Nations
Beyond the setting of Global Goals, in achieving these goals, it is the paramount condition requirement that all Nations and collectives that make up ‘Team humanity’ have credible lower level Goals. Goals that individually and then collectively are fairly allocated and collectively add up to the collective attainment of the highest level, Global Goal. The execution to achieve The Goal then necessarily rolled out in a well-coordinated, managed and auditable goal attaining hierarchy. The Problem is serious and urgent, and as such critically needs this disciplined approach.
The UN have tried to do this with the Carbon Accounting and negotiations but due to politics and power plays, it’s clear that from the goal setting, goal acceptance, the basis for accounting and the auditing that whole process has become clogged in bureaucracy blaming and endless debate.
Frustration has led to nations, business and other collective entities choosing their own, goals, metrics, and standards, outside the UN process, that are often cleverly constructed to appear noble and leading edge. The explosion of Carbon Neutral, Zero Carbon, Net Zero Carbon initatives around the world can lead on to the impression that collective goal setting is ‘Perfect and All aligned.
From my assessment of many of these initiatives, while having some good intent, are nothing more than self-serving marketing ploys that position these collectives as being more righteous in pursuit than those lost in the UN quagmire.
Aside from the Wrong Goal, even in The Goal today, we are missing the vital need to have goal discipline with alignend Individual and Team goals that, can and will, achieve The Global Goal! Without The Global Goal being achieved THE Problem with still be Our Problem!
The whole process has lost its way, and has become a political
If you want a real more technical on the Decoy of Hope, read this Government submission paper, here. (Although it is New Zealand focused, its application can be applied 100% to the argument contained above.)
In Summary, today we have:
Wrong Goals for a Wrong Success
Wrong Success for Success
No Alignment of Goals for Anything!
