Seizing change

Seizing change

Like many people, after a 15-week COVID-19 induced hiatus, this weekend I encountered a glimpse of my old life again. A simple coffee and a long walk with a close friend - not a FaceTime call or Zoom meeting in sight! It was enough to make me feel joyous but also deeply anxious about what kind of ‘normal’ I really want to return to.

Three months of lockdown have imposed a kind of power cut to my life that I could never willingly have enforced on myself. I am trying to optimistically treat this as a unique chance to ‘reset’ for the better. A chance to make changes - do more of the things that make me happy, cut out the things that were a negative influence. A chance to make changes that will help me develop as a person.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a huge amount about my pre-COVID life I loved, and lockdown has reinforced just how much I miss it. But the lifting of lockdown feels like it should be a momentous moment. A chance to emerge from my cocoon of housebound imprisonment, tracksuit bottoms and unkempt hair as an improved butterfly with a new sense of purpose. But what if I don’t manage to use this opportunity to make a change and instead slip back into my old patterns. Will this mean I have failed?

The thought of change feels like a lot of pressure. It is both exciting and overwhelming. I have resolved to take it step-by-step on my personal journey, but importantly, actually take steps. At a more macro level, it feels like the same applies - this is a generational moment to break our patterns and rebuild society in a sustainable manner. However, unlike my life, for which I can't predict the outcome of my decisions to change or not, the consequences of not addressing the climate emergency are clear. As the OECD have powerfully put it, "unchecked, global environmental emergencies such as climate change and biodiversity loss could cause social and economic damages far larger than those caused by COVID-19." That is a terrifying thought.

We have heard much about the importance of using the emergence from lockdown on a national and global level as a chance to "build back better. " A "green recovery" would mean directing Government spending in revitalising the economy towards projects such as renewable energy, sustainable public transport, electric vehicle charging points, improving the energy efficiency of homes, restoring woodlands and protecting biodiversity. By continuing to make sustainable choices in our lives and for our businesses, we can contribute towards changing course through collective action.

The chance to make changes for the better is in our hands at this moment. It is important we take it.