Laura, over the last 8 years we have interviewed almost 250 sustainability champions and changemakers around the world. Some of them academics and communicators, most ‘doers’ and shakers. Each with their own story and motivation. What inspires you to dedicate your professional life to public health and a sustainable future?
I grew up in a home that recognized the importance of protecting the planet. My dad, Ted Turner, was a pioneer who sounded the alarm about global warming and nuclear weapons beginning in the 1980s. He also aired series and documentaries, which we grew up on, including The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and National Geographic Explorer depicting the wonder and beauty of the natural world. We also learned of the damage humans were causing to land, sea, and life on earth.
Being exposed to this material at a young age affected me tremendously. I learned from my dad, who led by example, that I could make a difference by taking action. That’s why I have invested my time, energy, and resources in identifying gaps and filling them by starting organizations and programs or volunteering my services to create a healthy and sustainable future for the next generation.
You serve on a dozen boards in the US for well-known organizations – business and charity. Do you have the impression that we are on the right track in addressing sustainable development issues?
I believe we are on the right path; we are winning battles but are losing the war. The solutions exist, we just need to act with urgency to scale them at a much, much faster pace. In August, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the Sixth Assessment with UN Secretary-General António Guterres noting the IPCC Working Group’s report was nothing less than a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are sounding, and the evidence is irrefutable.
We are running out of time to repair the devastating impact of global warming caused by carbon and methane emissions. The report reveals we need to cut emissions by half by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050—or risk passing a tipping point that no future generations can fix. The time to take action to turn things around is now.
S.G. Guterres specified the internationally-agreed threshold of 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels of global heating was perilously close. We are at imminent risk of hitting 1.5 degrees C in the near term. The only way to prevent exceeding this threshold is by urgently stepping up our efforts and pursuing the most ambitious path to reducing global warming.
COP 26, the UN climate change conference scheduled to open this month in Glasgow, will focus on energy transition and set the stage for what comes next—the challenges of turning climate ambitions into climate action for the United States and world leaders alike. President Biden’s most ambitious goals are reaching the goal of reducing U.S. emissions by 50% by 2030, decarbonizing electricity by 2035, and achieving net-zero carbon for the U.S. by 2050. This would represent, in our country, an enormous change of direction.
Climate action must begin with hope and attainable solutions. One of the organizations I work with that embraces this mindset is Project Drawdown. It was the first to enlist researchers to measure, map, and model the top 100 scalable solutions to address global warming by implementing solutions that mitigate greenhouse gases.
My favourite top solutions include:
- 3 Reduce food waste
- 4 Eat more plant-rich diets
- 6 Educating girls
- 7 Family planning
- 11 Regenerative agriculture
- 19 Managed cattle grazing
If you combine #3 & 4 together it becomes the #1 solution to global warming. If you combine educating girls with family planning, it becomes the #1 solution to address the climate crisis. I encourage everyone to visit drawdown.org to learn more, get inspired, and act! Be sure to check out Drawdown Review 2020, the most current research and analysis of climate solutions, it includes 10 key insights for possibility and action across sectors.
