Change. There is nothing more intrinsic to the existence of humanity and the planet we live on as change. Yet, such a short word conveys not only that strange and unsettling mixture of emotions one feels when hearing it but is also used to translate into language the way time interacts with human society and the natural world. Today, we face change on an unprecedented scale, but this change is not one we can afford to be fearful of, nor can we afford ourselves the time to become accustomed to such rapid changes. Instead, we must be bold, we must take action and we must embrace changes in every facet of our lives, from the food on our plates, to the way that we travel, and to the items we pick off the shelves. In governance and policy, the changes will need to be yet more extensive with restructuring required at every level and in every sector to ensure that our planet has a future.

Never before has climate change been so apparent to the global population. As heat waves, wildfires, floods, and every imaginable extreme weather event continues to shake the foundations of modern society we are rapidly reaching a breaking point. As Europeans and Americans flock to the beaches and leave the fans and AC running 24/7 in an attempt cool down during the second major heat wave of the year it can be easy to forget the true source of the heat and how issues such as this are a daily battle for many areas of the global South. As climate change clashes with war, limited socio-economic development, pandemics, racial inequality, gender inequality, ineffective/inefficient governments and greenwashing across industry and agriculture it can be difficult to see any possible future for our planet.

Cop26 has proven, once again, to be a disappointment for Small Island Developing States (SIDS). As leaders, politicians and activists convened in Glasgow (UK) for the United Nations Climate Change Conference the initial utopian images of green energy, reduced plastic and a world dedicated to stopping the oncoming crisis morphed into a less promising picture. For those in the know, the inner political cogs had been whirring for some time and not all for the benefit of the climate…