Finding the way forward

Global warming is incredibly complex with interwoven economic, political, social, personal, and cultural issues. Unfortunately no one person, no one nation, and no global authority is in charge of fixing global warming. We are proposing a global conversation guided by an inclusive method of bringing people together who have the capacity to make a real difference. Sometimes the reasons people want to save energy or improve agricultural practices or switch to electric cars is more about their desire to have a clean and quiet environment. For others the reasons may be level-headed business forecasting the upswing in renewables as a source of energy and switching away from fossil fuels. Our concept is to facilitate that conversaton and help participants develop real action plans.

from A Common Vision to a shared action plan

Because global warming is so intertwined with technical and non-technical aspects, it is extremely difficult to resolve. Global warming is especially difficult because the technical solutions are known, but often may seem to be too expensive. Not everyone thinks global warming is a problem - at least not for them - or perhaps they are afraid of change so don’t want to think about it. For an oil and gas company business, the last thing they want to do is give up the business they have for an unknown new business. And then there are some people who, for unscrupulous reasons, promote misinformation to delay the need to make any decisions. Because the problem affects the entire world, many people don’t want to be the first to make the changes because it may seem futile if others do not make changes as well.

Removing the primary threat of global warming is a complex process

Finding the way past all these difficulties and through to a final series of actions to bring climate back into a stable condition is the focus of our work.

Because there are so many diverse groups and interests in this topic, it can be difficult to know where to start. We begin by searching for a common vision where we all share a concept of a desirable future. From that vision we collectively set a goal with sub-goals. Inevitably there are many impediments to be removed, avoided, crossed over, end-runned, or whatever works to get past them, before any progress can be made. These strategies to get past the barriers to progress are the key elements of any action plan, and as often as not they have nothing to do with the technical aspects of achieving the goals.

Simplified diagram of taking action to achieve a stable climate

We use three different methods to develop these strategies: Route or Event Mapping, Lean Six Sigma techniques, and Focus Group analysis.

All three methods begin with examining where we are now and where we want to be in the future. Each approach is designed to deal with different aspects and different stages in the development of the solutions.

These are not theoretical strategies or armchair solutions. The approach Stable Climate is using is real, action-based, and engages the people who are actually going to do the work. These can be small steps or huge steps involving major players. The action plans are developed individually and collectively so that once they are all brought together there is an integrated action plan. The plan is an integrated plan, but as with all plans, once the implementation begins, inevitably there are small to large changes in the plans that are required simply because the issues are all integrated, dynamic and often shaped by each other. For this reason, the implementation is under constant review, monitoring, and revision.

Achieving a stable climate is a lofty goal and not likely to be achieved in a short period of time, so these plans and actions will be spread over years and decades.