A new decade is upon us. It is the most crucial decade in the history of our species in terms of dealing with climate change. Even if the COVID-19 pandemic might be occupying the bulk of our collective awareness at this time, it is climate change and what we do or fail to do in the next 10 years about it that will define our future and determine whether the homo sapiens experiment will come to an early end or endure past the year 2100.
Two amazing women represent for me the ethos of this time – Greta Thunberg on one hand and Sallie Calhoun on the other.
Greta is a 17-year old Swedish climate activist with Asperger’s, a diversity which is actually her superpower since, unencumbered by social pressures to remain in denial about it, she is able to express with great clarity the gravity of the climate crisis we are facing and the scope of the actions required to address it.
Here is her talk at the COP25 in Madrid in December 2019 – a prophetic clarion call to action. Commitments by developed nations to reach a carbon neutral economy by 2050 are revealed by Greta as little more than clever accounting and creative PR in light of the fact that, at current emission rates, our collective carbon budget will be exhausted by the end of this decade. The politics required for changes appropriate to the challenge at hand do not exist at the moment – says Greta. While we collectively work on bringing about the politics required for the preservation of a habitable Earth, Sallie Calhoun shows us how to individually rise to the challenge through our investments.
A successful Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Sallie Calhoun put her financial resources at the service of addressing climate change by restoring the fertility and therefore the carbon absorption capacity of US agricultural land. She calls her engagement in philanthropy, impact investing and regenerative agriculture the No Regrets Initiative.
I see Sallie as embodying the type of behavioral change Greta is advocating as commensurate with the climate challenge we face. If only 20% of all financial capital were to be deployed in the manner Sallie deployed hers we would be well underway in reversing the effects of climate change and ensuring a habitable Earth for the long haul.
Here is Sallie’s E F Schumacher lecture on October 27th 2019 in which she recounts her journey from her early years as a Southern girl more interested in science than the female role models presented to her as appropriate for her gender and age, to her exciting and successful career as technologist during the golden years of Silicon Valley, to the transformation of her financial windfall into a tool for addressing the biggest existential challenge we are facing collectively.
As soon as her talk was published I found myself watching it three times. If at times you feel in the throes of worry or despair, you will find in Sallie’s talk a powerful antidote.
After leaving the finance industry, I spent the last decade trying to help people connect the dots between our investments and the challenges we face, not only in terms of climate change but also the erosion of democracy, increasing wealth and income inequality and the destruction of natural ecosystems. Sallie’s example is a powerful reminder that it’s possible to turn financial resources from a tool of extraction into a tool for positive transformation and healing.
If you are curious to explore turning your own investment portfolio, or that of your clients, into a transformative tool to build a more just and healthy future for all, consider attending my course Towards Aware and Values-Centered Investing offered periodically through Money Quotient University or attend my webinar series Align Your Investments With Your Values which you can take at your own pace. The first course is designed for financial planners but is open to individual investors as well while the webinar series is designed for DIY individual investors.
You can also reach out to me for a free phone consultations if you are unsure about the DIY route or need some guidance and resources.
It is in moments like this, I am referring here to the COVID-19 pandemic currently raging around the world, that we pause and revalue how we act in the world through our purchases and investments. Let’s move towards supporting what is essential work and towards aware and no-harm investing!