Karla Souza: "Reconciling people with nature"

I believe that all the climate change related catastrophes the planet has seen in recent years, and especially in 2021, have made us reflect on how we live and relate to our environment. Climate change is already affecting every region of Earth and primarily impacting vulnerable communities.

The latest IPCC report on climate change tells us that human activity is the primary cause of global warming and that we must make not only drastic, but urgent, changes. The experts say these changes include significantly reducing greenhouse gases, CO₂< and methane, and putting an end to the extraction of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, and coal.

It’s time we realize as humans the we are not separate from nature, we are part of it; we are nature (as the movement chicksforclimate points out). Sustaining the current systems of power and privilege will bring us to collapse. We must question and defy them. We need to move from sustainability to regeneration.

A positive climate narrative

The term regeneration is one of the most innovative concepts of the climate crisis, since it takes a different focus, attempting to align human activity with ecosystem evolution. To truly transform society we need a holistic vision of climate justice that also embraces elements such as health, recovery, resilience, adaptation, and positive impact.

We need changes that make us human beings see ourselves as being part of nature (something we have always been, but seem to have forgotten). The most inspiring and clear example of that is the practices of Indigenous communities, who for millennia have based their progress on the respect for biodiversity, while resisting the global colonization project, which insists on ignoring their ancestral knowledge and exploiting their lands for profit to give the already rich and powerful even more wealth and power.

It is possible to reduce the effects of climate change. I have faith in humanity and can see a future in which society prospers without leaving anyone behind. But we need to act now, assume responsibility, be committed, raise our individual and collective voices to demand changes from governments and industries; and also do self work, become more empathetic and compassionate, educate ourselves, learn to relate to other humans and other living beings, reconcile with nature, the planet, and ourselves to understand that our presence on Earth has both positive and negative consequences. This is the great first step that all of us can and must take.