Are there any stakeholders that are forgotten when discussing climate change, and how can we include these communities in that dialogue?

I couldn’t go to the COP26 this year, so I’ve been following a lot of the social media coverage. Just yesterday, this group called the elders including Mary Robison and other really prominent people were saying, “where are the youth? Where are the Indigenous communities, where are the really vulnerable communities in this dialogue when we start discussing climate change?” She basically said the audience is not wide and the diversity of voicing is still missing. I do have to say that the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, over the years have been opening more spaces for local communities and Indigenous groups to be engaged in that dialogue. I think there are still a lot of imbalances, and when we talk about climate change and equality, we often forget that the people who go to these meetings and who have the decision-making power are often not as vulnerable.

A lot of the vulnerable communities who have major issues with development and poverty are not necessarily represented. I think including these communities in dialogues has been attempted many times, but I think there is an emerging conversation on how we can do that better. For instance, at the Convention Of Parties, there has been more space given to dialogues, bringing different NGOs, policymakers, the private sector and everyone together to have a discussion and to understand each other and where they’re coming from. I think part of the friction and part of the conflict comes from that we just don’t understand human experiences other than our own. I wouldn’t know what it is like to live in a coastal community that’s really vulnerable or where I don’t have income and I have to struggle to get education for my children. Having these dialogues and listening to others and their perspectives is where I think being inclusive comes from.

It’s not just bringing these people into the same room or giving them opportunities to submit their opinions, but it actually rests with us as well to listen and to understand what they’re going through.

Then, we must also think how in this instance with adaptation will this strategy work? How is this initiative actually going to deliver the outcomes that will increase the wellbeing and reduce the vulnerability of those communities?

Where do you see other opportunities at a global level for effective climate action to be taken?

Every year when there is the Convention Of Parties, there’s a lot of media, important discussions and financial decisions that are being made. I’ve been really happy to see that adaptation specific funding has increased. I think it’s around $300 million or more at this point just coming from this COP. But I think we know that countries like Australia need to really start thinking and stronger climate action. One of the actions that I see is about people voting, making noise and making sure that policy makers at all levels of government understand people are serious about climate change. They are starting to understand what that means and the Australia Institute this year made a survey again that showed between 60 or 70% of Australians want climate action. I think the other area where we are seeing lots of movement is the private sector. Some of that is probably going on below most people’s radars. But there are so many opportunities there as well.

How are for instance these supply chains being made more sustainable? How are they considering climate risk, and that goes for banks, insurance and all these different old actors that could have a really positive impact in reducing their emissions.

But then again, often it is about the public, and if we don’t make noise and we just go along with the status quo then I don’t see much changing. One of the really cool things is the young people they use. I definitely see opportunities there. We have this massive global youth climate movement coming and saying that this is enough. People are also making brave decisions. With leadership, if there is a decision that needs to be made, it’s not always necessarily the popular one. But if it’s the right one, then you do it. I think a lot of governments, so for instance if you look at the EU and the other big players, understand the necessity of acting on climate change, but they also understand that we have to adapt.

We have to reduce emissions and we have to also start thinking about what do we do when for instance we have bush fires like we had in 2019-2020?

What can we do differently? How can we help our communities to start preparing or are there some zones where we can’t actually have housing? I think there’s a lot to do both in the mitigation side and the adaptation side. I’ve being really happy that during the COP26, the Australian government for instance has released its updated National Climate Resilience and Adaptation Strategy, and they’ve also published their adaptation communications stock taking. There’s a lot of work to do nationally, definitely in how we can make sure that the goalpost that we are setting nationally for effective adaptation is actually adopted.

To finish off, are there any books that you would recommend to our listeners, whether those are relating to climate change or leadership and management?

When I started the Coaching for Leaders Academy, I also started writing a blog on leadership books. For two and a half years I wrote a blog every week, so I also read a book every week, but I think there’s three books that have really resonated with me. Dorie Clark is a branding author, but she’s all about teaching people how to stand out. Obviously, her book Stand Out is amazing.

It’s all about this story of people who have this idea, and they are not sure whether it is a good idea, but then they take a leap of faith and are creating this amazing impact whether it’s in sustainability or other areas.

Stand Out is my go-to book, and she has a new book that’s called The Long Game. I still haven’t gotten my copy, but that’s definitely a book to look out for. I think it’s sold out at this point for many countries, but if you can find it, then I’d definitely recommended that.

When we think about leadership, there’s Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, and he wrote this book a few years ago that was quite controversial, but it’s called Why do so many incompetent men become leaders (and how to fix it)? He got a lot of press from the title, but basically, he’s a leadership psychologist. The whole book is about expanding our understanding of leadership traits and he really talks about the major difference between confidence and competence. Our human psychology when we see somebody who’s super confident makes us think, “oh, they must be a really competent.” A lot of these leadership traits are about being competent through being cutthroat and showing strong leadership, and people think that it makes you a good leader. Then for women we keep telling them, “well, if you want to be recognised as a leader, you should be doing the same stuff.”