John Scales Avery
Does history repeat itself? Is it cyclic, or is it unidirectional? Certainly many aspects of history are repetitive – the rise and fall of empires, cycles of war and peace, cycles of construction and destruction.
On the other hand, if we look at the long-term history of human progress, we can see that it is clearly unidirectional.
An explosion of knowledge has created the modern world. Never before has the world had a population of seven billion people, to which a billion are added every decade. Never before have we had the power to destroy human civilisation and the biosphere with catastrophic anthropogenic climate change or thermonuclear weapons.
Our situation today is unique. We cannot rely on old habits, old traditions, or old institutions. To save the long-term future for our children, grandchildren, and all the other creatures we must overcome the inertia of our institutions and our culture.
Restoring harmony
Harmony between human society and nature must be restored. Fundamental change has been called for by Pope Francis and former US vice president Al Gore.
In June, 2015, Pope Francis addressed the climate crisis in an encyclical entitled ‘Laudato Si’, saying ‘Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political, and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day.’
In his Apostolic Exhortation ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, he wrote: ‘Just as the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say “Thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality.’
For many years, Al Gore has struggled to call public attention to the existential dangers of catastrophic climate change. These efforts were recognised with a Nobel Peace Prize, which he shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Change needed
The October 2018 report of the IPCC shocked the world. The report finds that limiting global warming to 1.50c would require ‘rapid and far-reaching’ transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities.
Global net human-caused emissions of CO2 would need to fall by about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, and net zero around 2050. The report also concluded that humanity has only 12 years in which to act if tipping points are to be avoided, beyond which uncontrollable feedback loops would be set in motion.
Fundamental changes are needed in order to give our economic system both an ecological conscience and social conscience. In many countries, economics and politics are linked, because excessive inequality in wealth has meant that corporate oligarchs control our political systems.
To restore democracy, we must decrease economic inequality and reformed economic systems must prioritise ecological goals, especially the replacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy, reforestation, and the drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The need for rapid and fundamental changes means that we need an ecological revolution – but it must be a non-violent revolution, fought in the court of public opinion.
Download John Avery’s book We Need An Ecological Revolution.
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