A tipping point is an irreversible change, a threshold that, when exceeded, can lead to large changes in the state of the system, and to feedback loops. The changes in climate no longer correlate with the rate of anthropocentric carbon emissions. To understand the climate crisis, the idea of non-linear changes is of central importance, which suggests that impacts will be far more rapid and severe than predictions based on linear projections. These current societal impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak might just be a ripple in the pond though, compared to what we can expect in the future, following from the human-induced climate crisis. This year my teaching experiences might be different, however, as we can see right now a crisis happening in real life, with health, social, moral, and economic impacts. They responded in different ways, from denial to shock. When I introduced Jem Bendell’s article to university students in 2019, they found it really hard to imagine how climate change will affect the world. At first instance, I also responded by taking individual actions (such as putting solar cells on my roof, eating no meat, less air travel), but I also realized that such actions might be too little too late.

Emotionally I felt pessimistic and experienced a sense of hopelessness. I realized that climate change is the biggest challenge of our time.

When I read this paper in 2018 it shifted my mindset. Our current form of civilization cannot be sustained. He refers to a crisis which will end our current way of living, producing and consuming. His idea of societal collapse is often misunderstood though. The key argument of Jem Bendell is a harsh message about climate change: he argues that societal collapse is inevitable due to the combination of severe and irreversible climate effects and the lack of institutional responses. Jem Bendell asks the question: Can professionals in sustainability management, policy and research continue to work with the assumption or hope that we can slow down climate change, or respond to it sufficiently to sustain our civilisation? In my opinion, the Deep Adaptation paper provides guidance how to adapt to the current corona crisis, in which we have self-isolated ourselves in lock downs with huge economic and societal consequences. The paper shows the urgency of another crisis, the climate crisis, a topic which – at least in the media – has moved to the background due to the corona outbreak. The paper from Jem Bendell about Deep Adaptation published in 2018 can be a source of inspiration in these uncertain times.

Due to the COVID-19 virus we are facing the challenge to stay together while on on a distance and also keep collaborating. Welcome to you all – in these strange and unprecedented times.

Deep Adaptation by Jem Bendell