Nature Can Do Without Humans: Humans Can't Do Without Nature

Christiana Figueres (Head of the UN Climate Change Convention that delivered the Paris Agreement in 2015) makes an impassioned call for humans to change their environmental 'mindset' from competition to collaboration (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/02/nature-climate-crisis-new-mindset). Figueres reiterates the 'Tragedy of the Commons' phenomenon, where everyone operating according to their own self-interest, ultimately depletes/destroys a shared resource. In a very real sense, our planet is a giant commons. People may arbitrarily specify land borders, air space, maritime limits, government/company/individual 'ownership' etc, etc but the Earth is an interconnected entity. It doesn't recognise human divisions. And, humans like any other species, are ultimately wholly dependent on the viability of their planet's ecosystems and the integrity of its biogeochemical cycles. Figueres opines we need ambitious, joined-up actions at the imminent meetings, in Egypt and Canada, to cut 'greenhouse gas' emissions, as well as reverse catastrophic biodiversity loss. She's absolutely right but I wouldn't hold my breath. Getting governments and companies to sign pledges is one thing. Getting real positive action is something quite different. There will always be countries, political parties, major corporations and individuals, entirely driven by self-interest (even if they bother to 'greenwash'). For example, the UK's PM's U-turn on attending Cop27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/02/rishi-sunak-u-turns-decision-not-to-attend-cop27-climate-summit), is much more likely to be a recognition of political imperatives than a damascene conversion. Little sign of a change of 'mindset' there?