Gen.T hosted a panel at the Virtual Conscious Festival, speaking to three climate change-makers working to solve our carbon and plastic addictions
Talking Points is a semi-regular series where we highlight some of the key topics discussed at a Generation T keynote, fireside chat or panel discussion.
Ninety percent of all plastic produced isn't recycled, meaning at least 8 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the ocean every year. Our throwaway culture is threatening not only our natural world, but our food systems and our health.
Parallel to this, the Australian forest fires in January showed the world that death and destruction as a result of global warming is no longer a hypothetical future threat—it’s very much at our door. The UN report released last year—that terrifying one that reported we have 12 years to prevent climate change catastrophe—stated that carbon pollution would have to be cut by 45 percent by 2030. Last year, carbon dioxide emissions actually increased by 2.6 percent.
Clearly, we are in desperate need of innovative solutions. To discuss this and more, Gen.T editor Lee Williamson was joined by three speakers who are fighting these two battles on various fronts, for a panel at The Virtual Conscious Festival.
The panel
Douglas Woodring is the founder of Ocean Recovery Alliance, a non-profit focused on using technology and new ways of thinking to solve the issues that face the health of the ocean. Doug is also a member of the 2020 Tribe, a panel of industry experts we consult when selecting candidates for the Gen.T List.
Josie Stoker is the co-founder of Capture, an app described as a Fitbit for carbon footprint, which helps its users track, reduce and offset their carbon.
Markus Gnirck is head of Asia operations at Oceanworks, an online marketplace that connects the suppliers and buyers of plastic recovered from the ocean.