“We can still guarantee a sustainable and dignified future for all”

“The question people ask me the most when I give talks on the climate crisis is is there still hope?” This revelation by Carlota Bruna, one of the most successful disseminators on sustainability on social networks, gives us an idea of ​​the anguish generated by the catastrophic tone that accompanies information on climate change. Bruna is committed to a way of communicating “that empowers people” and leads them to do things to save the planet. Science tells us that “we can still guarantee a sustainable and dignified future for all humanity”.

Very close to reaching 200,000 followers on Instagram, Bruna has starred this week in a new installment of ‘Encuentos en La Vanguardia’ within the ‘SOS_tenibilidad’ cycle. An initiative that was launched at the beginning of the pandemic and in which prominent activists and experts in the conservation of the planet have participated. In addition to her success on social media, Bruna is an ambassador for the European Climate Pact and a ‘storyteller’ at National Geographic. A nutritionist by profession, she is the author of two books: ‘We are the last generation that can save the planet’, where she calls for the attention of young people to reverse the destruction of the environment, and ‘Road to a vegan world’, in which she combines the knowledge of his professional activity with his naturalistic passion.

Enric Sierra, deputy director of ‘La Vanguardia’, spoke with Bruna about various aspects related to the fight against climate change and the role of young people in this challenging challenge. The session was broadcast via streaming through the website of this newspaper.

Bruna began her speech by providing some general information on how the new generations live and explain, basically through social networks, this challenge in which their future is at stake. “The latest report from the UN Government Panel on Climate Change warns us that the climate bomb is ticking and we are not going the right way. The one that marks the Paris Agreement not to warm the planet by more than 1.5º, because it would have catastrophic consequences, ”she explains.

But not all is lost. “Most important of all, the solutions to save humanity and prevent many species from becoming extinct already exist and are on the table. We can still guarantee a sustainable and dignified future for all humanity, ”she assures. Communication around the climate challenge is not without controversy. The amount of information, the tone and even the channels used are a matter of discussion. Bruna has a very clear position in this regard that she defends based on data. “Not enough is being said about this topic. Only 0.4% of the news in the US talked about the climate crisis in 2020”. Regardless of the amount, the ‘influencer’ assures that what she began to spread about climate change “was because I realized that when this issue was reported on television, the messages did not empower you to do something.” Faced with this situation, she decided that “she wanted people to know that they can do something for a better and more sustainable world.”

Young people are the most aware of the climate emergency situation and Bruna assures that “we found out through social networks that used in the appropriate way can help make a better world.” To generate community, something that the activist considers decisive to move towards a sustainable lifestyle. The disseminator regrets the way in which information about the climate crisis is often approached. “Not everything is black or white, although that message is almost always conveyed without taking into account that each reality, each country and each person is different,” she laments.

The importance that everything related to climate change has for the future of young people has generated a new concept: ‘eco-anxiety’. A logical consequence, but not at all desirable or useful to face a challenge of global dimension. The origin of this problem is “communicating in a way that is too catastrophic” and has been the subject of an analysis “by a group of experts who, through interviews with 10,000 young people around the world, measured and evaluated how the impact affected them of climate anxiety”.

The conclusions revealed that “45% stated that it negatively affected their daily life; 75% assured that the future is terrifying; 59% were convinced that humanity is doomed and that there is nothing to do and, finally, half of the participants in the study said that the information about climate change made them sad, anxious, angry, guilty and impotent” .

A particularly critical point for young people is “the fear generated by seeing that governments are not doing anything and that is why it is so important to vote for the right people, to bet on those who have sustainability as a priority, because in the end what is At stake is our world and our future.”

Bruna clarifies that “if there is no government action and international cooperation, all individual efforts will be in vain.” At this point, the ‘influencer’ recalls “the Montreal protocol of 1987, when, in the face of scientific evidence, 30 countries signed an agreement to ban the gases that were making holes in the ozone layer. We now know that he is recovering.” One more reason to take action: “I encourage people not to feel powerless and do what they can to make a better world”.

Regarding the way of disseminating, Bruna assures that “more and more of us are trying to communicate in a positive and hopeful way. We need the community more than ever.” In this sense, she affirms that “what has saved me the most from suffering ‘eco-anxiety’ is meeting with other activists, sharing concerns and inspiring us a lot.” It is necessary to explain that “there is hope, because science is telling us so. This is the most important thing and we need to communicate it in a positive and easy way so that we can integrate it into our own lifestyle.” Remembering the message of the seed of hope launched by Jane Goodall, who starred in one of the conferences in the SOS_sustainability cycle, Bruna affirms that “there is no hope without action”.

To questions from Enric Sierra, the ‘influencer’ highlights that Greta Thungberg “is doing a very good job trying to raise awareness among young people and putting a lot of cane into governments and macro-companies that are also responsible for this climate crisis.” For Bruna, “characters like Thunberg are very courageously demanding urgent measures.”

In a similar line, although with reservations in the forms from a personal point of view, the communicator assures that she empathizes with the actions in museums to draw attention to climate change. “I wouldn’t, but I understand that these activists, in a moment of utter desperation, would go to drastic measures to demand that we listen to the science.”

For the author of ‘We are the last generation that can save the planet’, young people are also the hope for raising awareness and the need to act in countries like the US and China. As data, while the carbon footprint in Spain per person is 5.5 tons per year, that of an American is 15.

Regarding tips to be more sustainable individually, Bruna highlights the importance of diet. “Just by replacing one serving of meat a week with another of vegetable protein, we would already be reducing our carbon footprint,” she says. Another measure is to generate less waste, especially plastic, and a third is “that if we need to buy something we try to make it second-hand.” In addition to “making a more responsible consumption of water, betting on renewable energies and using less private transport”.

Bruna regrets that the term sustainable has been trivialized and calls for indicators. In any case, she encourages “communicating with brands so they know we want them to be less polluting.” Something that young people already do.