Glass half full/empty

Edition 66

It’s been a long week, for all of us who live on the philosophy that a glass is half full, rather than half empty.

I’ve spent the week in Germany with innovators in the clean tech space, frustrated with the lack of access to a market or finance - but still passionate that they need to keep innovating for a future they believe in. That net zero is possible!

I’ve also spent it with a consortium of global foundations who have created a list of must-do’s for the G7 & G20 leadership. All of course in the hope that our current energy crisis doesn’t derail our journey to net zero.

The G7 is now ongoing in the Bavarian Alps in Schloss Elmau, two hours from where I am and Germany has already sadly but predictably walked back on it’s climate targets by wanting to use fossil fuels to address its domestic energy crisis.

Glass half full views have been even more pressured by the misogyny that has turned the clock back to 1942, with the overturning of Roe V Wade in the United States. How do we retain our faith in the rule of law and justice, when a 50 year old precedent is overturned in the world’s supposed most advanced country.

How then do we tell other countries to stop using religious and cultural beliefs as a tool to persecute women? I’ve personally had to take a mental break from social media, after weeks of misogynistic trolling by men who caveat their bullying by citing they have mothers, sisters and daughters.

This weekend, I turn another year older and I want to hope I will be just a little wiser. So, I’m spending my time in these beautiful Bavarian alps - stopping to take a breath, taking care of my mental health, decompressing and brainstorming how we as a community of leaders can stop a return of attitudes from a century long gone, and this reversal of human rights we are witnessing.

I’d love to hear your ideas. Drop me an email - I know we can do this together. Till then, sending some peaceful mountain vibes your way!