Practical, Political, and Personal Transformations Toward 1.5 Degrees Celsius

O’Brien (2018) identifies three spheres of transformation – the practical, political, and personal – which collectively reflect and address the “social complexity of transformation processes” (O’Brien 2018:153).

Within the practical sphere, within which current climate change responses have been situated, problems are framed as technical and objective in nature and therefore can be acted on by more knowledge and inventiveness and improved regulation (O’Brien 2018).

The personal sphere represents the multitude of unique internal perspectives of both individuals and communities shaping the way we recognize and establish actions, habits, and the institutions and processes of our communities (O’Brien 2018).

What “moderates and maintains the structures and systems of society” (O’Brien 2018:157), and is located between the practical and the personal, is the political sphere, comprising those institutions and processes which are politically generated and regulated, and which stimulate or impede climate action.

Within policy and practice, O’Brien (2018)’s three sphere approach to transformation could be applied to ensure that climate mitigation and adaptation challenges are viewed as existing and being reproduced in all three spheres, and therefore need to be confronted at all three fronts. Importantly, in expanding our focus to encompass the personal sphere, we acknowledge the autonomy and power of individual thought and action and therefore the need to create a social, economic, and political milieu within which individuals can act as “agents of change who are capable of contributing to systemic transformation” (O’Brien 2018:157).

It is absolutely essential and synergistic to support underlying climate and socioeconomic resilience, and this demands serious reflection on climate transformation within the personal spere. My worry therefore is the time sensitivity of the climate emergency, and the limitations on our ability to undertake the extensive and profound societal changes required to truly integrate the personal sphere into the dominantly practical outlook on mitigation and adaptation.

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Reference:

O’Brien, K. (2018). ‘Is the 1.5°C target possible? Exploring the three spheres of transformation’. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 31 2018, pp.153–160.