Last week, I had a conversation with Adam Kahane, author of the book “Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change”. He had related his impressions from witnessing the Copenhagen climate change summit to a group of social entrepreneurs at the Hub in Brussels by describing two opposed camps: Those that focus on their own needs as individuals and those that focus on the needs of the whole no matter the costs.
I asked Adam: “What is it that could make a difference in such a stuck situation like in the climate change negotiations?” The answer I got: “It’s difficult.”
Indeed it is, and that is why I am asking the question. If it was easy it would be boring.
So many people willing to take action against climate change. On their own they are powerless. Even the powerful get stuck.
There’s a story Adam told about South Africa in the early Nineties:
A joke at the time said that, faced with the country’s daunting challenges, South Africans had two options: a practical option and a miraculous option. The practical option was that we would all get down on our knees and pray for a band of angels to come down from heaven and fix things for us. The miraculous option was that we would continue to talk with each other until we found a way forward together.
It took hard work and determination, but miracles do happen.
On climate change: Maybe we’re looking for the solution in the wrong place. Maybe we are placing too much trust that our leaders are going to solve this for us. Maybe there are other ways. Maybe we can find them.
Change is difficult, but it’s not impossible. Maybe we can start now.