Paul Hawken’s new book champions the solutions and mindset we need to deeply engage the climate crisis.

As the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) convenes this November, Paul Hawken’s new book Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation provides a breath of fresh air, not just for the solutions it champions, but for Hawken’s insights into the mindset necessary for sustained action. Hawken is the founder of Project Drawdown, which assiduously documents the top 100 climate solutions that could not only limit carbon emissions but “drawdown” carbon from the atmosphere, a path towards reversing global warming.

When we think of countering climate change, we often think of electric vehicles and wind turbines. But Hawken devotes considerable attention to protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems in Regeneration. The reason is that the global ocean is the largest carbon sink on the planet.

Twenty-five percent of all carbon emissions have been absorbed by the ocean and 93 percent of human-caused atmospheric heating. Phytoplankton alone are estimated to hold between .5 to 2.4 billion tons of carbon, rivaling the quantity of carbon in terrestrial grasses, plants and trees. Add in all the life of the sea—such as fish, sharks, whales, coral, octopuses—their bodies, like ours, are made of carbon and thus, sequester carbon. Then there’s deep water formation, the sinking of massive quantities of carbon-dioxide-rich water in the polar regions to the deep sea and what’s called “Blue Carbon”—mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrasses.

The areas of action for the ocean that Hawken outlines are familiar, among them marine protected areas (he highlights the goal of protecting 30 percent of the seas by 2030), restoring kelp forests, seaweed farming, protecting and restoring mangroves and wetlands. But the point he makes about them is in dire need of recognition: action on climate change must include action on ocean conservation. The more ocean ecosystems are protected, the more carbon they will sequester. It’s another aspect of how our survival is tethered to the survival of other living things: being good stewards of creatures and their habitats is inseparable from caring for our own well-being.

Hawken outlines an array of practices from agriculture to localization, rewilding and energy storage to honoring the rights and traditions of indigenous people. But the list of solutions, whether they be coastal preserves or net zero cities or micro-grids, isn’t the most compelling thing about Regeneration. What is most striking is the path Hawken carves for our minds and hearts. “Regeneration is not only about bringing the world back to life; it is about bringing each of us back to life,” Hawken writes. “It calls for moving out of our comfort zones to find a depth of courage we may never have known.”

There is something deadening about witnessing our world degrade. But there is something unmistakably enlivening when we cast ourselves with the lot of people who commit to bettering the world, despite the odds. Hawken refuses the division between care for our world and social justice. “The state of the environment accurately reflects the violence, injustice, disrespect, and harm we do to people of different cultures, beliefs, and skin color,” he writes. Social justice is integral to action on climate. The people who suffer the most from climate change are the ones who have contributed the least to it.

Regeneration contains an Action + Connection section to help readers find ways to get involved and find likeminded people to collaborate with. The companion site, Regeneration.org, provides a much wider array of resources. Soon to be released is a collaboration app called Planet, which will enable people to form pods, make commitments and share ideas.

If you are feeling this can-do approach is a bit too cheery, given the deflection, foot-dragging and mismanagement plaguing the Glasgow Summit, well, I think you’re justified. But there are some facts to consider that are not saccharine affirmations, but rather good, old-fashioned crow bars that have been used with great effect throughout history to open doors to what seemed impossible.

Earlier this year a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) poll showed 64% of the global population believes climate change is a global emergency. But how do you mobilize that 64%? You don’t have to: history tells us that when 3.5% of a population wholeheartedly engages an issue, it can spark rapid and massive social change. That 3.5% has an impressive resume: the movements to abolish slavery, to grant women the right to vote, Gandhi’s Salt March leading to Indian Independence, and of course, Martin Luther King’s leadership in the civil rights movement. “The majority of the people in the world understand there is a crisis,” Hawken writes. “The bridge to ending this climate crisis is the awakening of that majority to take action.”

In my own mind, Hawken’s call for action points to the fact that it’s no coincidence that the earth’s entire biosphere and democracy are both critically endangered. Just as action to protect ocean ecosystems is integral to action on climate change, action to protect democracy is integral to protecting our oceans. Conservation and democracy need each other to be effective. A fundamental regard for life—human and non-human—underlies them both. The rights of every human being to a healthy environment, the rights of living creatures to protection from human-caused extinction and the right to vote all need our fierce and courageous attention.

“Regeneration means putting life at the center of every action and decision,” Hawken writes. “The ultimate power to change the world does not reside in technologies. It relies on reverence, respect, and compassion—for ourselves, for all people, and for all life.”

Hawken is calling us to do something that is just plain hard, to engage a challenge despite diminishing odds, in the face of a reality that is nothing less than terrifying. But he is telling us that such engagement can breathe new life into us. Amidst fear for the future and grief for what has been lost, this crisis is calling us to step into the uncertainty of the present and offer our best efforts to it—our courage, our compassion, our deepest energies. Regeneration is an invitation to take that path.

In reading Hawken’s book, I was reminded of a talk by the eco-philosopher Joanna Macy in which she offered a twist on the tale of David and Goliath. When David heads off to fight Goliath someone asks him, “Are you hopeful?” David replies, “I’m busy. I’ve got something to do.”

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About Liz Cunningham

Liz Cunningham is the author of the award-winning Ocean Country: One Woman’s Voyage from Peril to Hope in Her Quest to Save the Seas, with a foreword by Carl Safina. Her mission is to be a voice for the life of the seas and the people who are working to save it, to inspire and empower others to join these efforts and forge a sustainable future. She writes about ocean conservation and the traits we need to be effective stewards of our seas and our planet, among them courage, the power of the passion for rescue, and our capacity to work together to implement solutions. Learn more about her work at LizCunningham.net

About Ethan Daniels

Ethan Daniels is the author of several books, including Under Cape Cod Waters, Coral Triangle Seascapes, and a co-author of Marine Life and Natural History of the Coral Triangle. His award-winning photography and natural history articles can be found regularly in periodicals such as Alert Diver, Sport Diver, and Scuba Diving. When Ethan comes up for air, he makes his home in northern California. He runs Coral Triangle Adventures, a snorkeling company that brings guests through regions with the most incredible shallow reefs on Earth.

Additional photographs courtesy of Tim Laman, Chris Newbert, Inés Álvarez Fdez.

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