There are some key things I learnt from COP28 and that I would like to see actioned in 2024 to meet the climate challenge we will all face. There are a lot of Cs in COP; Climate, Carbon even conflict of opinion. But the 3 C’s I’d like to take forward in 2024 are:
Collaboration
COP is an unusual environment, but it is an amazing place to meet new and old friends from totally different sectors and disciplines around the world who have a common interest in driving the change to ensure we all have a fighting chance to save nature and humanity. What is clear is the urgent need and want across those I met to collaborate on a scale never seen before, breaking silos down to ensure we can mobilise the skills and technologies needed.
Communication
It also became clear that many of us have been shouting in our own echo chambers- not sharing the intelligence needed by others wide enough. Talking to the finance sector it became very clear that space and geospatial data have not done enough to communicate the value of, and access to, our data to these sectors who really need it. We really need to find a way to communicate what we do far better to those outside our industry.
Call to action
Beyond talking, we must now move forward faster than ever before and that will take effort and funding. Frustration was often heard from those with either transformative technologies or on the ground projects delivering results – many of which seem to be unable to move beyond Proof of Concept or grant funding to scale fast.
They cited corporate investment need for high returns as a barrier to early investment, which of course means corporates can’t also support Not for profit enterprises. I met several who need to scale fast so if organisations want to really put their money where their mouth is and truly make a difference, then get in touch, I know some companies and organisations who really need help.
Encouraged by the successes of last year’s COP28 we will see greater global corporate collaboration in the move forward to drive systematic change and to help the markets become a protective force. There will be significant battle lines drawn from those who resist the transition to those who see great opportunity and the need to change. The winners will be responsible for our planet’s future.
So, I move on from 2023 into 2024 with hope that the people I met have the will, the want, and the capacity to drive forward. I just hope we can do it fast enough.
