Join the Baha’i International Community at the upcoming COP 28 for a “Values Roadshow”—a conversation on the values needed to spur effective and enduring climate action.

Key points

• If tomorrow the community of nations was bequeathed a limitless amount of money—would our challenges be resolved? On what basis and to what end would we channel our magical funds?

• Many of the ‘solutions’ that are promoted try to harness economic gain and political expediency and use them for good. The intent is commendable. But this approach is unlikely to produce the results we ultimately need.

• Using a values-based lens can be applied to any range of issues: the future of fossil fuels, the role of youth, the necessity of gender equality, questions of common but differentiated responsibilities, among many others.

Every person who enters a dialogue or event on the triple planetary crisis will soon conclude that one of the most pressing concerns is a lack of funds. And of course our shared predicament cannot be alleviated without a just distribution of material wealth—but there is also more to the story.

If tomorrow the community of nations was bequeathed a limitless amount of money—would our challenges be resolved? It could certainly help. But the deeper root causes underlying our situation—for instance, the tendency to be mistrustful of one another, to compete against and seek to prevail over one another, to consume the earth’s resources to excess, or to equate the accumulation of wealth with success, to name a few—would still remain. On what basis and to what end would we channel our magical funds? We would need to start a conversation about the broader values that guide us.

A good example can be learned from another field where scientific knowledge led to a financial investment that has since saved countless lives. We take for granted today the standard of cleanliness sought in hospitals—but in fact many people were at first unwilling to accept a link between hygiene and the spread of illnesses. The result was that resources were not allocated as humanity needed them to be. But since that time, and because our understanding grew, both the cultural and financial lengths we go to are phenomenal; special sanitation processes for certain kinds of waste, single use medical instruments, air filtration, an almost-perpetual cleaning of people and surfaces. All of this comes at a cost—a cost we have decided is worth paying. The risk avoided is worth far more than the expense invested.

The same should hold true with climate change. The science is clear enough to take action and the risk is profound enough to demand that we do so. The next step is to shift our priorities. We must ensure that the values of choosing to save lives and working to preserve the environment overcome the forces of short-term financial profit or political expediency—forces which still seem to shape climate policy. Many of the ‘solutions’ that are promoted  try to harness these forces and use them for good. The intent is commendable. But this approach is unlikely to produce the results we ultimately need.  

Let’s take it as a given that we all want present and future generations to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. If this is a value we hold dear, then we should be working to reduce the risk of harm coming to those generations; our children, and their children. Leaders today have a duty of care to which they must commit. Fulfilling this duty may mean difficult decisions and sacrifice—but it is for the greater good. And while it will largely be the leaders of the world who make the necessary structural changes, every individual bears responsibility to act. Individuals, institutions and communities, together, are able to create the normative shifts necessary.

Committing to upholding a set of values is also just the beginning. How do we turn them into committed action? What are the implications? What sacrifices might we need to make? And regarding finance, in particular; it raises important questions about how we raise and direct funds. Do we raise taxes on certain industries that have a negative impact on the environment? Do we reallocate resources from military expenses to climate change mitigation? Do we close loopholes in tax avoidance or invest more thoroughly in rooting out corruption? Do we do all these things and more? 

Vitally, what kinds of spaces can be created where these questions can be discussed free of the partisan polarities to which we have become accustomed?

Each time I go to the COP gatherings, meanwhile, I ask myself how different they would be if participants had agreed on the basic values driving their discussions. I wonder how COP would look if nation-states aligned their actions with the values they espouse. And how would they connect those values to the positions they take in their negotiations?

And I feel for the individuals whose task it is to represent agendas and offer suggestions that do not align with more collective and universal values. Anyone in such a position must feel a kind of cognitive dissonance—even a sense of despair. But there must be ways we can unpack the points of tension and find solutions. Using a values-based lens can be applied to any range of issues: the future of fossil fuels, the role of youth, the necessity of gender equality, questions of common but differentiated responsibilities, among many others.

We at the Baha’i International Community, together with a host of partners, hope to encourage these deeper values-based conversations during our time at COP 28. Please join us in what we are calling a “Values Roadshow”—a conversation which we hope you can extend into your own spaces. 

Humanity’s challenge at this moment seems to be, at its heart, about aligning our cherished convictions and values with our priorities and actions. This is no small task. But finding consensus in these efforts may provide a lasting foundation for our policies and outcomes, and indeed, for the greater ends we seek. 

Daniel Perell is a Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations