We’ve Missed the Plot on Climate Change
Darren Clifford
Managing Director | Investor | ex-McKinsey & Co | Helping companies scale & succeed in a 2.5°C+ world
For years, the climate conversation has been dominated by one goal:
Cut emissions. Reach net zero.
It’s an essential goal. But it’s not the only one, nor is it the most important one that matters.
We’ve been so focused on emissions, we’ve largely overlooked the bigger, messier, more human question:
What kind of life will people be living in a warming world?
Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: even if we miraculously hit every carbon target, most of the world’s population may still face a deteriorating quality of life. Even if we think about quality of life simply in the most basic terms of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, it’s getting harder for many people to comfortably address the basic ones.
And while people continue to live longer lives, the quality of life has declined globally for the first time in years after COVID.
And so we have to ask: What is the future we’re building?
If we hit net zero but leave billions struggling to eat, stay healthy, or travel freely and comfortably for pleasure and not just out of necessity, then we have failed. If we haven’t enabled society to adapt effectively to a warmer world, what have we actually achieved?
A Reframe: Humans at the Center
I’m not suggesting we abandon carbon reductions. But we need to zoom out.
Climate change is not just a problem of parts per million CO₂. It’s a human systems problem.
It’s about how we live, and whether we can thrive, in a world that’s already transforming around us.
That means we need to both decarbonize and look beyond mitigation toward adaptation.
If we can’t build a world with resilient infrastructure, robust healthcare, strong economics, and vibrant social systems that help people flourish on a hotter planet, then we haven’t truly succeeded. No matter how much we reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Here is a starting point to thinking through things that I think we need to get right:
Why is this working talking about?
If we are myopic and focus solely on net-zero, we will make tradeoffs that are suboptimal for society. We complain when companies only focus on KPIs and don't think about the people behind the numbers, yet we are doing the same thing here.
To make the best decisions for humanity we need to have a way of measuring impact that looks at all of the puts and takes. This means making hard choices that will have negative impacts on the environment for the positive impact it will have on our quality of life.
We need to change our focus to make better decisions.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I’ll be honest: I don’t know the perfect answers. There will be hard trade-offs. There will be times when we get it wrong.
But I do know that focusing on CO₂ alone is not enough. We need to find a way of measuring impact that is broader and lead to the better outcomes for humanity.
If we want a future worth living in, we need to start asking better questions and making sure our solutions keep humans at the center.
I’m trying to figure this out in my own work now, through a new platform focused on adaptation and quality-of-life investing.
But this is about how all of us, as investors, leaders, policymakers, and citizens, choose to define success in the climate era.
Are we here to save the planet, or are we here to help people live good, meaningful, thriving lives on it?
Because the two are not always the same.
Let’s start the conversation.
— Darren
helping climate founders find PMF
3moGreat research and I appreciate the optimism Darren Clifford. My realist take on this is that inside of late stage capitalism humans will never be at the center of anything. We are workers and consumers. This of course is not true at a micro level. People lead really interesting and diverse lives. But at a macro level it couldn’t be more true.
RBCx | FORESIGHT CANADA
3moWould love to talk about our new EarthTech: Adapt cohort with Brittany G. if you are open to it. 🔐
Director at Herculean Climate Solutions
3mohttps://lnkd.in/g89jHnvx We need a shared vision of a decent livable future
Seniorrådgiver i Geelmuyden Kiese
3moI broadly do agree with you. But I also worry that this line of reasoning will take attention -- and time, resources and effort -- away from reducing emissions, because we in the rich parts of the world believe we can adapt our way through the crisis while leaving the rest of the world to suffer the consequences of warming. I also worry that economists still broadly underestimate the costs of warming, so that the most efficient way to reduce suffering in most cases is still reducing emissions. But I do like that you're pointing out the obvious: that warming is happing and that we need to invest in strategies to manage. I just hope that you will do so in a way that contributes to emissions control and climate justice.