It’s 2040 and humans solved climate change...

Humans averted the worst of the shitstorm caused by climate change. And I played a role. How did we pull it off? What was my contribution? I wrote this speculative piece as part of my Terra.do course on Climate Change: Learning for Action.

The transition was not ‘peaceful’.

Like a petulant child grabbing at his parent's leg, those who prioritized profit over people and the planet clung to the old world. The temper tantrum lasted several years. In the process, many people’s lives ended — climate defenders and polluters. After the COP30 debacle, advocates pushed even harder for those with power and money to shift their energy towards glocal solidarity networks and community-led solutions.

What did I do?

In 2025, when I joined the Sea Turtle cohort of Terra.do, I internalized the mantra that “being interdisciplinary isn’t scattered, it’s strategic.” I got my Master’s in Migration, Climate Policy and Development in 2026. My interdisciplinary blend of grassroots capacity-building, program management, and foresight skills led me to become the director of a climate innovation hub for an international philanthropic organization at the age of 28. I supported Indigenous, young founders, founders with disabilities and those with a big vision and valuable contextual knowledge that deserves bigger platforms.

I felt at peace because I didn’t have to sacrifice my values or perpetuate greenwashing to work on climate solutions. I got fulfilling opportunities to consult outside my 9-5 as a futurist, such as designing a collaboration between two growing cities in Africa and Asia to learn from each other’s democratic policymaking processes for mitigation and adaptation.

The biggest challenge I faced wasn’t external — it was mental chatter telling me “my skills aren’t all that relevant,” “I should just stick to one field...”, etc.

Who were my allies? Who was on my team?

Other professional misfits like me who led with heart and genuinely cared more about the collective good than personal gain. My ‘teams’ kept changing as I moved jobs and cities… But after I moved back to Asia from Europe in 2034 and settled in a beautiful village with my partner, I joined my local citizens cooperative to contribute my skills and organizational flair to make our village disaster-ready. They were intrigued by the concept of intergenerational equity that I had long championed. This year, they became the first village government in the country to mandate 2 seats for elected officials between 12-18.

And this misfit learned that belonging doesn’t come from erasing all differences. It comes from aligning your hearts, heads, and hands to work towards a vision you share where all your neighbors (not just humans) can flourish!