A little over a year ago, I won an international competition to be the citizen representative of Hopenhagen at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen. Wide-eyed and excited, I traveled with Hopenhagen's founders to Denmark and tried to share the organization's message: We should be hopeful about our future and our ability to stop climate change.
Little tangible progress was made during the negotiations, and I left the conference frustrated and despondent.
At Hopenhagen, we believe that little action was taken because our leaders are still stuck in the "sacrifice or suffer" mindset--the idea that avoiding climate change will require great sacrifices that will leave us poorer.
We believe this is a false choice. We can have a healthier, cleaner, and wealthier future and fight climate change. With the help of Hopenhagen's leader's, here is what I wrote in one of my final columns from Copenhagen:
"At Hopenhagen we believe we can build public support if we speak to people's dreams and not their fears. We need to paint a picture of a future that people can embrace. We must speak of a future where cars make no noise and produce no pollution because they run on batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, and where electricity from solar power is so cheap and abundant that even the poorest in the world can afford it. Imagine buying energy from our neighbors instead of purchasing oil from distant lands. Imagine tropical forests and coral reefs expanding and growing instead of dying. Who wouldn't want to invest in that world?"
While the frustration of the conference stuck with me, so did the optimism of Hopenhagen. We will get action on climate change only when people believe that the solutions represent an enormously good deal for society.
Along with my colleagues at Hub Culture and Christensen Global Strategies (both of whom partnered with Hopenhagen in Copenhagen), we are now trying to implement these ideas: Announcing Climate Deal Day - a day for individuals and organizations to tell the world of the deals they've made that are good for the climate and have other tangible benefits as well. We want to highlight win-win opportunities.
It is estimated that solving climate change will require, globally, over 500 billion dollars of investment per year. This investment, while large, is not only far less than will be required to deal with the disasters of climate change, but it will also usher in the next industrial revolution. It will make our air easier to breathe and reduce the geopolitical conflicts often associated fossil fuels. It is all a good deal. (Read a longer article about why here.
This investment of $500 billion will necessarily be made up of countless "deals"--car companies investing in electric cars, or individuals putting solar panels on their homes, for example. We at Hub Culture and Christensen Global Strategies want to encourage and highlight these deals on a special day, four times a year, once during each "quarter," on "Climate Deal Day."
The first Climate Deal Day will be held in Davos, Switzerland, during the World Economic Forum. Individuals and businesses who are not in Davos can share their deals on our website.
Please join us. Sign up for the Climate Deal Day newsletter, or follow @climatedealday on twitter. And if you have a climate deal you want to share with the world, click here and let us know.