In 2019, the IPCC released a special report on the implications of 1.5°C of global warming, entitled Summary for Policymakers. 

Ninety-one key authors from 44 citizenships and 40 countries of residence collaborated to write the report, with 133 authors' contributions and over 6,000 cited references. The report also amassed 42,001 expert and government review comments.

Now, 2022 brings us the IPCC’s sixth assessment report, entitled Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. The report states how human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature, affecting the lives of billions of people around the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks.

Naomi Klein’s book, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal, which dives into the 2019 IPCC special report, brought home the challenges ahead, highlighted by this quote: 

The report examined the implications of keeping the increase in planetary warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7°F). Given the worsening disasters we are already seeing with about 1°C of warming, it found that keeping temperatures below the 1.5°C threshold is humanity’s best chance of avoiding truly catastrophic unraveling.

Reading Naomi’s words in the context of the latest IPCC report made me think. This level of environmental devastation couldn't continue. So what was my part in all this? Yes, EV charging software was one way I contributed to change, but what more could I do?

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Trying to make a difference

Back in January 2020, I made a decision: I was going to support the Eden Reforestation Projects. Eden Reforestation Projects work with local communities to restore forests on a massive scale, thereby creating jobs, protecting ecosystems and helping mitigate climate change. 

Their approach is to hire local villagers across the globe to replant their own forests, sowing millions of trees every month. Eden guarantees that they will plant, grow, and guard each tree to maturity. The result? A healthy and native forest and armies of trees to help combat global warming. 

Some quick facts about Eden Reforestation Projects: 

• Eden is a non-profit with the clear goal of reestablishing natural landscapes that deforestation has destroyed
• Eden works with villagers and communities in developing countries who are facing the extreme poverty that results from deforestation and losing the land that had sustained them for centuries 
• with the salary villagers receive from Eden Reforestation Projects, villagers can finally provide for their families and send their children to school.

How I first helped - then had to stop

When I first supported the Eden Reforestation Projects, I was still self-employed as a consultant and committed to giving away 5% of my profits every month. 

The issue was that, as the Switch journey started, I had put all I had into the business and was without any profits. Towards the end of the year, I decided to stop my contributions to the Eden Reforestation Projects with a heavy heart. 

It was a hard choice - I still fully supported their mission, and my values always lay in sustainability and protecting our planet.

Now Switch is growing. We can help again.

Of course, as time went by, Switch gained new investments and began to grow. And then came 2022, and it was time for a moment of reflection. 

We were achieving what I set out to do - building an ecosystem of protocol-packed software applications that facilitate innovation across the e-mobility industry—helping us move in a greener way. 

Since Switch’s launch, our steadfast mission has been to help bring convenient, secure, and user-friendly electric vehicle charging to a global audience. And, just as back in 2020, I realised that wasn’t enough.

So, I knew what to do. It was time to partner once more with the Eden Reforestation Projects. Here’s how that partnership looks today: 

• Switch will now help plant 10,000 trees per month through the Eden Reforestation Projects
• we are committed to doing our part in helping to reforest the world and help mitigate the effects of climate change.

How Eden helps people and planet

Eden’s work is funded by donations from individuals, groups, and eco-conscious businesses. 

Eden now:

• manages an astonishing 249 project sites spread across ten countries, including Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Nepal
• has planted over 830 million trees since its inception in 2004 
• has empowered 11,500+ employees with fair wages.

Eden plants nearly a million trees per day, maintaining planting levels even when faced with civic unrest, extreme weather, wild animals, or other disruptions. 

Meanwhile, communities facing extreme poverty are given new opportunities for economic self-sufficiency, improved health, and education.

Mamanʼi Kambana - employee story

Maman’i Kambana began working for Eden in 2014. Since that time, she’s been able to send her children to school, open her own business, and help transform the environment in Madagascar by planting countless trees.

Through our partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects, we can help fund the planting of millions of trees and the employment of thousands of people worldwide. 

Watch the video to learn more about Maman’i Kambana’s story.

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What we are up against

We cannot rely on our governments to do the right thing. We have witnessed this throughout 2019 and beyond and, in all honesty, for the last many decades. 

Despite the wake-up call of the Fridays for Future movement, initiated by Greta Thunberg, we still see most governments failing to execute.

In the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015, we as a global collective committed to heavily reducing CO2 emissions and reaching the 1.5°C goal. 

Now, in 2022, governments still need to do more to act on climate change for both planet and people. The 2022 IPCC report noted:

• a lack of political commitment and funding, as well as weak institutional capacities, limit the implementation of adaptation options in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry
• in cities, governance capacity, financial support and the legacy of past urban infrastructure investment constrain how cities and settlements can adapt
• we also see that in cities, the gap between what people can adapt to and what governments implement is uneven
• the gap is larger for the poorest 20% of the population than for the wealthiest 20%.

Climate change is a global threat to which all people and ecosystems are vulnerable. Without effective adaptation, climate change has the potential to reverse the developmental gains in our world and push millions of people further into poverty.

Become part of the solution today

You, like us, can help today. You can be part of the solution.

Perhaps you can join together with others in your company or organisation to figure out some massive action that you can take. After all, it is within the collective that the true power lies.  

Whether you join me by donating to Eden Reforestation Projects or find other ways of making a meaningful impact, it’s over to you. 

Either way, the time is now. Please, make a point to take tangible action today. And please share this article with your peers.

Thank you.

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