A Global Climate Solutions Network

to fight climate change, regenerate biodiversity and save our home planet.

V1.0.2. This is JEDI's blueprint to fast-track climate change action beyond the missed targets. While a Climate Action Network exists, with primary activities aimed at awareness, advocacy and policies, we need urgent focus on the implementation of actual solutions. This proposal shows how.

Abstract: Effective solutions to the climate crisis are applied by an organized collaborative network of worldwide technical solution providers and country implementation actors. The transnational network is global, the approach on the ground is local, inclusive of social welfare and biodiversity. The network requires strong lead actors and a dependable backbone structure.

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Manmade planetary climate change, global heating, and the loss of crucial biodiversity are facts. Countries, politicians, and large corporations provide insufficient results to counteract climate change. Society is locked in dysfunctional conventions. Set targets are not being met. Atmospheric CO₂ concentration keeps rising, with newest record above 400 ppm.

Valuable initiatives and movements are active worldwide. Their effective scopes vary from global reach with broad focus, to local reach with specific focus. Awareness building, advocacy and policy changes are absolutely required, but are not sufficient to effectively win the climate fight.

What's next, once awareness, advocacy and policies improve?

Will climate scientists save the planet?
No. Climate scientists study the climate and report their findings. They point out what is happening, where, how fast, and even tell us what needs to be done. But a climate scientist does not know how to install your new solar powered hydrogen fuel cell.

Will the Free Market save the planet?
Not on its own. We know that free markets are not free, information flow remains with insiders, organizations and individuals resist change, the money is not where it is needed, and the climate goal does not fit the profit hunt. So, the Free Market needs a strong helping hand.

United Nations chief António Guterres finally > shouts it out loudly (The Guardian 17 June 2022).

To successfully fight climate change and restore society’s natural habitat, we require a holistic, systematic approach with focus on solutions.

Systematic coordination can be achieved through a coalition of initiatives, movements and technical know-how working in concert as a networked global system to fast-track the technical application of climate solutions.

A globally networked climate solutions system is in a position to apply awareness building, advocacy, and technical solutions by acting locally on global scale.

A global climate solutions network connects technology solutions to country application opportunities worldwide

A global climate solutions network connects available technology solutions to country application opportunities worldwide

The global climate solutions network will push and replicate emerging and existing solutions that are already now being applied by innovative businesses and governments. It will be transitioning technical solutions from the current pioneers to other countries and regions, on global scale.

Three Key Elements

The climate solutions network requires three key elements. These elements are climate actors, technical solutions, and country implementation.

The climate actors are the many individuals, professionals, businesses and organizations globally with the know-how, and the positions to act and apply the available solutions.
A multitude of largely available technical solutions is ready to be applied.
On local level, climate and technical actors coordinated in country climate solutions networks apply and implement the globally available technical solutions. They are supported by climate actors strengthening awareness and conducting political advocacy to support and fast-track the application of technical solutions.

The networked collaborative system aims to provide all available solutions to all actors in all locations of the world - and done right, it will.

The next three headings detail the three key elements, thereafter follows their interaction in a coordinated network.

🔑 1 Climate Actors

The climate actors are the individuals and organizations who support, establish and carry out the solutions that are available in the network. They are:

Key stakeholders such as public and private movements and organizations involved in climate change action and biodiversity preservation, and the highly motivated individuals engaged in these movements and organizations.
The vast technical knowledge and implementation bases in universities, institutes, private businesses, marketing and consulting companies that do their part of needed actions, with or without additional funding.
Small, medium and large companies and corporations in carrying out their social and environmental responsibility convictions and practices.
Politicians, governmental agencies and religious organizations who are in a position to directly push needed actions on political and sociocultural levels.
Affluent and influential individuals who are looking to take their role in restoring society’s planetary habitat, as celebrity activists, managers and funders.
The general population, with the multitude of individuals, employees and family businesses who are motivated and ready to support and implement needed action.
Every single individual must and will become a climate actor, applying climate solutions either by proactive action or refraining from dysfunctional action.

There are many motivated and ready-to-go actors in these groups who feel underutilized (able but powerless) for concerted action and solutions on climate change.

The climate solutions network's activities apply to the following 10 key technical solution clusters in every corner across the globe.

🔑 2 The 10 Technical Solution Clusters

The technical action & solution clusters provide specific technical know-how to support country based climate action. Within a globally collaborative network technical solutions can be easily called upon for local application.

On cluster level the technical network coordinates and supports development, testing, piloting and application of technical solutions, and fast-tracks the broad introduction of workable solutions, globally. It does so in 10 technical solutions clusters.

1. Renewable Energy

The renewable energy cluster consists of the actors in the supply chain of renewable energy world-wide. Technical fields are solar, wind, hydrokinetic, geothermal and hydrogen. It includes the actors battling fossil fuel use and biofuel expansion.

To access the cluster’s know-how and solutions for world-wide application, the networked cluster optionally (but recommended) establishes a structural unit to support internal and external network collaboration: Global Climate Solutions - Energy, in short GCS-Energy,; the unit may require subunits according to specific technologies, for example, GCS-Energy Solar.

2. Forests and Biodiversity

The cluster consists of the actors in the field of forest and biodiversity preservation, reforestation, afforestation, the creation of forest and biodiversity sanctuaries. Optional cluster network unit: GCS-Forests.

3. Ocean Health and Biodiversity

The cluster consists of the actors in the field of ocean and biodiversity preservation, ocean pollution control, ocean clean-up, the creation of ocean and biodiversity sanctuaries.Optional cluster network unit: GCS-Oceans.

4. Food Consumption Reform

These are the actors in the field of reorienting food consumption away from large scale consumption of red meat, palm oil and other climate dysfunctional foods to viable alternatives. Optional cluster network unit: GCS-Food Reform.

5. Agriculture and Farming

The cluster consists of the actors in the field of climate responsible agriculture and farming, from soil care and biologically responsible output intensification to stopping forest encroachment. Optional cluster network unit: GCS Agriculture.

6. Buildings and Construction

The cluster consists of actors developing and applying emissions solutions in building technology and architecture, renovating and retrofitting houses and buildings, CO2 neutral temperature control appliances, and lowering emissions caused by cement, concrete, insulation, and other building material production. Optional cluster network unit: GCS Buildings & Construction.

7. Financial Realignment

These are the actors involved in battling money flows to climate dysfunctional economic activities in favor of financial inputs to climate positive economic activities. Optional cluster network unit: GCS-Divest.

8. Reduce, Repair, Recycle

The cluster consists of the actors involved in consumption reduction and recycling practices. Its actors improve efficiency of and reduce the need for travel, improve product repair/replace ratios, reduce the fashion renewal cycle, reduce food wastage, reduce single-use plastic, reduce material consumption. Optional cluster network unit: GCS-R3.

9. Clean Up Greenhouse Gases

The cluster consists of the actors involved in research and implementation methods for cleaning up greenhouse gases that are now in the atmosphere, such as Direct Air Capture, Carbon Mineralization, and ocean based methods; and dealing with natural gases emitting from newly exposed earth near the shrinking polar ice covers. The cluster also works on the replacement of greenhouse cases used for coolant and electronics. Optional cluster network unit: GCS-Restore.

10. Population Growth

The actors involved in stabilizing population growth, mainly in areas with very high population density coupled with very high population growth, and in other areas that opt for stabilizing population growth. Optional cluster network unit: GCS-Have2.

Technical Solutions Clusters support the creation and propagation of ready-to-use technical solutions for application in Country Action Networks.

🔑 3 Country Climate Solutions Networks

The number of climate action initiatives and movements is growing, with many voices imploring politicians, corporations and society to take much more urgent action. Many focus on advocacy, specific elements, specific fields, specific regions with or without transnational structure.

A higher degree of coordination and collaboration, combining the forces of climate action, will lead to much higher effectiveness than individual actions. This can be achieved by collaborative climate solution networking on country level.

Networked country action consists of fast-track application of technical solutions, accompanied by awareness building, advocacy and adjusting dysfunctional systemic conventions.

As country action networks interlink with technical cluster networks they transform into a formidable climate solutions force much beyond current individual action.

1. Immediate Technical Action and Application

Country climate actors fast-track the application of technical solutions provided by the 10 key technical action clusters. This requires a strong degree of networked, hands-on collaboration between technical organizations world-wide and technical solution action on country basis, globally.

With a focus on technical solutions, country climate and biodiversity actors prioritize the business community, corporations and governments for application of solutions.

Climate actors urge and support the fast-tracking of countries that are on slower (Paris accord) climate solution schedules due to their lower development status.

Intractable climate offenders who ignore available solutions, such as listed here and here, are impaired on all fronts: finances, consumers, suppliers; impeding key elements of their resource, production and market chains. Some of these offenders can be bought into, or bought out with the aim of dismantling, transforming or replacing them. Needed funds can be crowdfunded.

Norm: Technical solutions are applied with the approval and backing of local stakeholders at the ground level – the people directly involved and affected. Where approval does not yet exist, measures are taken to raise awareness and create solution incentives that ensure local social well-being in the short and long-term.

2. Create Awareness and Reform Policies

Policy changes are and remain a key factor for enabling broad climate solutions. Policy changes require strong public awareness of both the climate change threat and the viable solutions to counter it.

Awareness creation and advocacy prepare and support action for climate solutions on all levels within the country.

Awareness of the need to act is being raised in many countries, while skeptics still cause discord within civil society. Here, the network further increases advocacy and awareness, coupled with the awareness that effective action is possible, underway, and needs popular support.

In many less developed areas, awareness, advocacy or urgency hardly exist. Issues of emissions are unknown or uncared for; ruthless corporations buy and bully into pristine ecosystems under the guise of economic development. Here, awareness creation, advocacy and urgency must be fast-tracked at high speed, coupled with the awareness, visibility and participation in effective climate and biodiversity solutions that are available and applied.

Creation of awareness everywhere can be achieved by modern commercial marketing techniques as done by commercial conglomerates, using television, radio and internet channels, advocacy, consultancy, hands-on training, education and community development activities, and visible, direct application of effective climate solutions.

3. Adjust Key Systemic Conventions

Key systemic conventions are norms, values, laws and ways-of-doing that have "baked into" society over time. For climate solutions to be and remain effective in the long term, some of these conventions require adjustment.

Country climate actors engage in fast-tracking

changes in policies, laws, and structures to the requirements of technical, economic and social solutions on climate change
social readjustment of systemic "business as usual" to the "decisive urgent action" mind-set required by successful climate change and biodiversity action
the concept of social and environmental responsibility in businesses small and large, with aim to focus on sustainability and well-being for people, economy and planet
concept of long-term business sustainability over short-term profit generation and profit disbursement
integration of environmental and sustainability factors into product and business costing, such as calculating gas and particle emissions, pollution, product end-of-life waste disposal, soil and water degradation as product and business cost
rewarding effective action on climate change, biodiversity and sustainability, and effective penalties of opposite action for monetary profit motives
departure from the fallacy that economic development at the cost of environmental destruction increases people's welfare
societal understanding that material accumulation, largely generated by modern mass-media marketing, is not the way to happiness - or a sustainable planet.

Targets

The goal is clear – save society’s habitat as we know it – our natural planet – save humankind.

Established systems are unable to reach agreed climate change targets. To ensure achieving the goal, the Global Climate Solutions Network push-supports established systems and/or surpasses those systems to achieve and exceed the agreed targets.

The Global Climate Solutions Network target is to bring forward all planned climate change deadlines by 15 years and limit global warming to 1%. Deadlines for "net zero" are realigned to "real zero". Let's get cracking.

The Network

Networking among movements and organizations requires a joint mission. For climate action and solutions, this mission is clear.

Networking is a purely voluntary matter, and signifies equal level of all participants.

Networking requires information exchange on individual, organizational and technical level.

Networking requires its participants to know what they can expect of each other. Mutual trust is involved. Coordination and collaboration must have reciprocal value among the members of the network.

Networking requires backbone support.

Networking for organizational collaboration requires key proponents to take the lead.

Collaboration

Systematic coordination and collaboration on climate matters is the primary prerequisite for effective networked climate action.

Technical solution actors learn from each other and jointly apply solutions, climate actors in different countries coordinate on similar solutions, and, most importantly, country actors collaborate with technical actors to apply infinite technical solutions locally, on global scale.

Backbone Support

A successful network requires backbone support to enhance its effectiveness. This support may be provided by intermediary organizations that are not direct network members. The backbone activities provide or support:

Information Exchange
Communication
Funding
Monitoring
Strategic Direction

Backbone: Information Exchange

Specific information exchange is the first step in mutual approachability for subsequent collaborative action. All network entities (initiatives, movements, corporations, governments) participate in exchanging information on their organizations and their climate action activities, accessible to all network members. The information exchange is specific to the network. The goal of the information exchange is to inform all other members and to indicate specific motivation and willingness to collaborate.

Information exchange is provided by database, presentations, meetings and other means. Technical support is provided by one or more specialized service providers.

Backbone: Communication

Direct communication is the second step to collaboration. Based on available information on other network participants and own action requirements, individuals and organizations communicate on collaboration opportunities.

Communication may be by any means. It may also be provided on a network-specific platform; technical support is provided by one or more specialized service providers.

Backbone: Funding

Each climate actor arranges their own funding. Additional funding is provided by funding support organizations who may or not be directly connected to climate change action. Funding is also collected and supplied for obvious gaps (sectoral or geographical) in climate change action.

Backbone: Monitoring and Evaluation

The final evaluation criterion is the survival of humankind, no kidding. The scientific community already keeps effective tabs on the progress of climate change.

The scientific community is invited to provide intermediary backbone support in measuring the sensibility and effectiveness of applied climate solution measures, networked or not, and may provide short-term advice on the effectiveness of specifically the networked approach to climate change solutions.

Backbone: Strategic Direction

The Global Climate Solutions Network will benefit from strategic direction advice. Advising technical and geographical priorities, identifying gaps, steering backbone support, mediating network conflict, ensuring appropriate network norms and values.

Structure

The above network backbone functions are crucial for effective network operations. They are not voluntary, and should be represented by actual structural units that are responsible, and can be relied upon for effective service provision. These may be provided by intermediary organizations.

Further structuring is optional but recommended:

Technical and Country Structures

While optional, to enhance the Climate Solutions Network with fast-track collaboration and implementation capability, the network may consider a few additional structural elements.

These are organized according to the transnational matrix network structure, with solution technologies on one hand and country solution application on the other.

Technical cluster network units may provide hands-on coordination within the clusters, and act as trusted internal facilitators between technical solutions and country application.

As facilitator of country action, a technical cluster network unit identifies workable technical solutions with the aim of replicating them. The solutions are broadcast to the country network units representing local country actors. The technical cluster network units coordinate the application of solutions with country network units and/or country actors, as far as needed.

Country network units support hands-on coordination for networked country solutions, and act as trusted internal facilitators between needed country implementation and technical solutions.

As facilitator of technical solutions, the country network unit identifies specific problem areas with the aim of solving them. Solutions for these problem areas are searched and found with technical cluster network units. The country network unit applies the technical solutions locally, as far as needed supported by the technical cluster network unit and/or technical cluster actors.

Network units would be actual offices staffed with the needed professionals and support staff. Such an office may be operated by a network participant, given the respective cluster or country actors approval. Stand-alone network units may, however, offer a higher degree of perceived neutrality in matters of coordination and collaboration. Funding for these network units is sourced from the respective network technical cluster and country actors.

Network units are created from scratch where gaps in climate actors and actions are indicated. These matters are tasked to the Strategic Direction backbone.

Key Proponents

Key Proponents are an absolute critical requirement for any collaborative network to start, grow and succeed. This also goes for the Global Climate Solutions Network.

Awareness, advocacy and activism alone cannot solve the climate crisis. Political support and urgency are required, but are also not sufficient. The planet urgently needs technical solutions, applied locally, on global scale.

This is a call to Key Actors in the climate action community to take collaborative action in globally applying currently existing and emerging technical solutions that can save our planet.

You may call it a climate solutions network, a climate solutions alliance, a global climate technology hub, or put your own stamp on it, it's all fine. Whatever the label, we must get the job done.

It may take only two or three influential key proponents to get the ball rolling.

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Jan Willem Roeloffs
JEDI International, Ltd. (contact)
Joint Economic Development Initiative
> Linked in

JWR is an MBM graduate from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands with focus areas Organizational Change, Transfer of Technology and SME Business Development. He worked 15 years in bilateral development assistance, mainly in Southeast Asia. In 2003 he established a small business in Thailand, now a family business, for export and production of environmentally and socially responsible local handicrafts. He works and lives on a small farm on the outskirts of Chiang May city.

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