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Insights |
Our health is directly impacted by our environment. The basic necessities that keep us alive are reliant on it. Air, water, and food. We depend on our atmosphere for the air we breathe, our lakes, rivers, streams, and springs for water to quench our thirst, and the soil to provide nutrients for the food that we consume. What does health look like for you in the face of climate change? Altered patterns of disease as ecosystems warm, such as an expanded range of ticks increasing the risk of Lyme’s disease. Respiratory disorders due to increased ground-level ozone and other climate affected air pollutants. A rise in mental health disorders, as increasing impacts and lack of action leave people feeling helpless (often referred to as “eco-anxiety”). Many of the solutions for climate change are large scale, often global, focused on actions of people too often beyond our ability to control. These solutions, therefore, feel impersonal. The challenges we’ll face from climate change are real, but for us to take autonomous action we need to explore another narrative as well. One that offers individual, accessible solutions to establish a sense of empowerment and provide a holistic direction for the future. Consider how climate change affects you directly. How connected you are to nature and the Earth. Identifying your individual vulnerabilities will enable you to develop a plan to address them. What lifestyle changes can you make to protect your health in a changing climate? Can you diversify your source of food by expanding from the grocery store to the wilderness? Integrating food and herbs from our natural landscapes into your diet will give you options in the face of increasingly erratic supply chains. Chaga, for example, can be made into a dark tea as a replacement for black tea. These medicinal mushrooms are rich in polyphenols, which act as antioxidants; important compounds that protect our bodies from oxidative stress caused by the same pollutants that contribute to climate change. Chaga should be sustainably harvested in the winter and thrive in colder climates on birch trees. Regular mindfulness practice will help balance the nervous system and promote resiliency, keeping you calm and kind in the face of more frequent crises and contributors to stress. Nature can help here too. For those interested in gardening, why not add plants that help calm your mind and help the body adapt to stress while making a positive impact on the environment? Holy basil (Ocimum sanctum) is an adaptogenic herb that addresses physical, chemical, metabolic, and psychological stress. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) is a nervine herb that promotes calm and relaxation. Both herbs are productive and easy to grow in your home garden. A significant aspect of achieving autonomous healthcare is the ability to make informed decisions. This involves being in tune with your body and recognizing the signs and symptoms it presents. The body provides us with these indicators to allow us to respond and support its innate ability to heal itself. An example of this is inflammation, one of the most notable contributors to disease. Inflammation is a part of the body's defence mechanism. It is a process of the immune system, by which it recognizes and removes harmful stimuli and is the start of the healing process. Inflammation can be initiated by the presence of pathogens such as bacterial or viral infections, injury, exposure to toxins including chemicals and mold, food sensitivities, autoimmune disorders, changes in hormones, sleep issues, or chronic stress. Symptoms of inflammation depend on the area or symptom affected as well as how long the inflammation has been present. Learn more about how to identify and remove, treat, and/or optimize the body's ability to cope with inflammation in my blog at CSO Partner. As inflammation is a common pathogenesis of many chronic diseases, lifestyle medicine can be implemented to reduce its impact on the body. Activities like shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, can reduce inflammation, as well as stress levels and lead to other positive outcomes such as improved sleep and immune function. Research shows that “forest environments promote lower concentrations of cortisol, lower pulse rate, lower blood pressure, increase parasympathetic nerve activity, and lower sympathetic nerve activity than do city environments, and that these results can last for up to seven days following your time in a forest”. Shinrin-yoku has been called a bridge between us and the natural world. Spend a minimum of 2 hours per week, 20+ minutes each time in nature. By taking small, actionable steps towards integrating nature into your daily life, you can create your own healthy, climate-resilient future. Dr. Cristina Allen is a Naturopathic Doctor with over a decade of experience, owner of lifestyle medicine brand FIELD GUIDE, and co-founding partner of creative consultancy Home Planet. She provides workshops and speaks on the impacts of climate change on health, permaculture, seasonal and healthful eating, and foraging wild spaces in North America. Connect with her and other leading sustainability practitioners at CSO Partner. Today wraps up a busy week for me of learning and collaboration to advance economic, social, and environmental outcomes. It kicked off with PDAC 2024 in Toronto followed by two days of discussions on the Future of Sustainable Development and Impact Investing at the Canadian Alternatives in Pensions (CAiP) conference in beautiful Niagara-on-the-Lake. One notable prevailing theme at both conferences was the role of public pension funds in promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in the countries they serve. My original intention was to use this blog to unpack that topic further but, as today is International Women’s Day, I am instead going to focus on a more subtle theme beneath the surface of many of the week’s discussions. According to today's CEO Magazine, we are not on track to achieve gender parity goals on our current trajectory – neither in government nor corporate leadership, or within society at large, anywhere in the world. There are, however, exciting innovations that could change the course of this trajectory. At PDAC, panelists from banking noted the inclusion of many young women in their area of finance, where once it had all been men. This relatively recent shift widens the pool of available (young) women to move through the narrowing pipeline for promotion. The challenge is keeping them, and understanding why this continues to be so. While the popular view is that women simply become disinterested in the lifestyle as they mature and so seek positions outside the well-paid mainstream for a better work-life balance, some senior female panelists suggested otherwise. Women can become ignored over time in traditionally male dominated fields. They face a gradual growth in gender bias, where their comments and gestures become increasingly dismissed, criticized, or even ridiculed by both male and female colleagues of all ages, and they eventually lose access to high profile projects, network membership, and sponsorship opportunities. Author Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic argues that “the main reason for the unbalanced gender ratio in management is our inability to discern between confidence and competence, (which fools us) into believing that men are better leaders than women.” He suggests that “Most of the character traits that are truly advantageous for effective leadership are predominantly found in those who fail to impress others with their talent for management.” While this is true for both men and women, Chamorro-Premuzic notes that it is “especially true for women.” While some women can push through and thrive, many more leave for better leadership opportunities in smaller, less well-paid organizations and fields where they can build their executive capabilities. A positive outcome of this exodus, though, is its tremendous value to society. At CAiP, where I had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion on new and innovative financing strategies, I once again witnessed the socio-economic potential of people leveraging financial products and services in new ways to create positive change. After more than a decade on the buy side at major banks and funds, Olivia Hornby is leveraging her expertise as Managing Partner at Spring Impact Capital to unlock the potential for the deep technologies required to achieve a socially inclusive, low carbon transition. Pranay Samson took learnings from his early years in banking to build a career in investing in and working with companies that create economic and social outcomes for women around the world, most recently with Plan International Canada, in partnership with the government of Canada and global institutional investors. And Ana Gonzalez Guerrero, co-founder of Youth Climate Lab, is building on her experience with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to develop and roll out an innovative financing strategy for a retrofit platform at MaRS that aggregates buildings in multiple cities for institutional investors. It was exciting to round out the week with a discussion this evening at Rotman’s Net Impact conference, organized by MBA candidate Ruchi Hirawat and her colleagues, on the emerging field of ESG in trade finance with Heather Lang and the rapid evolution of sustainable finance in Canada’s banking sector with Melissa Menzies. Among many of their insights, Melissa and Heather told a packed room of students of the men that had mentored and supported them throughout their career, reminding us that both men and women are part of this journey. Happy International Women’s Day to all the amazing women and men accelerating progress! Susan McGeachie is Co-founder and Managing Partner at Global Climate Finance Accelerator, which convenes partnerships across business, finance, and government on strategies, policies, procedures, and tools to finance climate solutions. As I spent a leisurely afternoon making ceramics with my daughter, it suddenly struck me how quickly she’s grown. My first thought was that, as a first-time mom, I need to remind myself to capture these moments before they disappear forever. My second was that we need to do the same with the window open before us to chart a course for a safe and equitable future. Witnessing just how quickly my daughter has grown, I've come to truly appreciate the saying "time stops for no one." Like the fleeting moments of childhood, the window for effective climate action is quickly closing, emphasizing the need for timely and innovative financial solutions. Addressing the climate crisis hinges on our ability to turn ground-breaking research into market-ready solutions. Climate projects, much like children, require thoughtful and flexible supports that consider the entire life cycle. Failure to account for the interdependencies of these supports throughout an entire value chain leads to an overemphasis on traditional financing strategies that are failing to meet the scale required. Continuously pursuing low risk investments with short-term returns leads to “misfunded”, unfinished, or altogether untapped climate action projects. It is encouraging to see the attention on and increase in impact funds and blended finance structures to address gaps at the early stage, and the growth in green bonds and climate funds for investment in advancing tested technologies and strategies. But more is needed. Incorporating an impact continuity lens will be essential for strategic resource allocation and support to ensure that projects are not just initiated but actively guided through each investment phase and brought to successful completion. The key to maintaining project momentum lies in the effective collaboration of market participants. For example, donor funding for basic science is ineffective without further rounds earmarked in advance for subsequent phases such as market validation of breakthroughs. A clear definition of stakeholder roles at the start of each project will enable meaningful participation for all players in the climate ecosystem. Public Ventures is partnering with the Global Climate Finance Accelerator to go deep into the weeds of specific project economics. We’re identifying funding gaps in critical areas and exploring how new funding models can ensure a steady flow of capital throughout the lifecycle of climate projects using an impact continuity lens. We’re looking at innovative adjustments, including the Excess Benefit Exemption (EBE), which would allow investors in climate-related projects to receive tax rebates on investment losses. Our hope is that corporate, national, and global leaders will help us experiment in and adopt refined financing models, new, fit-for-purpose policy frameworks, and structural supports for the climate positive project lifecycle. In 2050 my daughter will be just shy of 30. Throughout the two and a half decades leading up to that target year, she will need guidance and support to grow into the power she’ll require to shift entire value chains to net zero. It is up to me, in collaboration with my global community, to ensure that by 30 she and the rest of her generation inherit the same working world in which generations before theirs have thrived. Zoey Dash McKenzie is the founding president of Public Ventures, a Venture Capital fund manager. After launching a high-growth communication SaaS platform, she leveraged her experience in the tech sector to actively mentor first-time founders and invest in transformative early-stage startups. Her achievements and accolades include being a nominee for the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 award in consumer technology. She advocates for policy change that could unlock trillions of dollars for HealthCare and CleanTech innovation. In my part of the world, my long-awaited Christmas snowfall happened this past weekend, before we return to work in earnest, leaving a glittering powder of white over the twinkling lights of my neighbourhood. That first morning walk in the snow's quiet stillness leaves me cleansed and energized for the year ahead. As long as it arrives some time over what is for me a two-week Christmas and New Year holiday, I head back into the working world filled with optimism and hope. We’ll need them both. The 2024 working world will be a tough one. Deloitte’s economic outlook report paints a gloomy picture for Canada. While the firm was more optimistic about the US economy, it did note that climate change continues to pose a long term challenge due to increased costs and an as yet unrealized need to invest in solutions. It’s these very types of economic environments, however, that create exciting potential for change. Necessity as the mother of invention has been demonstrated time and again through innovations born in periods of recession. Low demand for products, services, and employees, combined with high levels of available talent collaborating on new ways to apply their skills breed creative disruption. Today, as Plato tells us in the Republic, “our need will be the real creator”. The first economic depression, triggered by the “Panic of 1873” brought us both the light bulb and telephone. The electric guitar, FM Radio, and the photocopier were created during the 1930s. The less glamorous but game-changing barcode, which enables us to track inventory and therefore reduce costs, was launched in 1974, a year after the start of the 1970s recession. The ongoing development of personal computers also took place during this decade of soft economic conditions following the launch of the first of its kind in 1971. And the Great Recession, resulting from the financial crisis of 2008, preceded the launch in 2009 and 2010 of economic disruptors Airbnb and Uber along with social networking and communications platforms WhatsApp, Instagram, and Pinterest. Coalescing thought leadership indicates that the much-needed disrupters coming out of this next recession will be to the political and economic systems themselves. The energy transition will be the most radical economic transformation since the industrial revolution. It will take more than technological innovation to get there as evidenced by the plight of mature technologies struggling to survive in the face of increasing interest rates, razor thin margins, and “warring regulators” that “have shaken investors’ faith in Canada, sent one company into bankruptcy and imperilled the massive green-power potential….” Today’s global legislative frameworks and financing architecture are not yet conducive to accelerating capital flows into climate solutions. Over the past four months, the Accelerating Climate Finance inaugural cohort of graduate students from business, finance, environment, policy, and engineering at the University of Toronto has evaluated and proposed solutions in five broad categories to address weak points in the capital investment system. The results of this work, to be released in early 2024, focus on five priority areas. 1. Legislative barriers that stall climate-aligned projects including renewable energy generation in Ontario and transmission in California. 2. Delayed reallocation of revenues through functional carbon markets or, where these fail, more direct mechanisms to support mature climate-aligned technologies still struggling with razor-thin margins and dwindling access to capital. 3. Uncoordinated, complex, and delayed access to concessional capital and risk-sharing structures. 4. Technically feasible but economically unviable industrial decarbonization solutions. 5. Non-income generating climate risk reduction through investment in adaptation. As our traditional economy sputters and stalls, we face a unique opportunity to create a new one, the one we’ve been envisioning in every global Conference of the Parties session since Paris. Successfully redirecting the flow of capital to the low carbon economy will create a softer landing in these challenging economic times for us all. Susan McGeachie is Co-founder and Managing Partner at Global Climate Finance Accelerator, which convenes partnerships across business, finance, and government on strategies, policies, procedures, and tools to finance climate solutions. |
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