A personal letter from Nonna Donna: What kind of world will our granddaughter inherit?

So, can we change the forecast?

Three months ago, we became a grandparents again. Holding this tiny, wonderful girl in my arms fills me with love, and fear. And that’s a really difficult paradox to manage in my mind. The fear currently dominates my thoughts, and drives my work and daily life, because unless we change course now, the world our children and grandchildren grow up in could be unimaginably compromised.

Yesterday, I read a Substack update from well-respected sustainability expert Matt Orsagh. It really did stop me in my tracks. It wasn’t a piece of dystopian fiction, it was a sober projection of where the data is pointing and clearly articulates the direction of travel. He says:

By 2050, we could see a world where famine is constant, the oceans are emptied of their great mammals, and coastlines are abandoned to rising seas. Whole societies may collapse under the strain of uninsurable disasters, deadly heatwaves, and mass migration. Even the Amazon may no longer regulate the planet’s climate, while melting permafrost pushes global heating past 3 °C.
Read Matt’s full piece here.

Before you head for the hills, or simply switch off, please do read on. I want to share the science that underpins the forecasts, and importantly, what we can all do to change the direction of travel – for the best.

The Science Behind the Forecast

Each part of Matt’s vision is already unfolding:

• 🌡️ Record heat: 2025 is on track to be the 2nd or 3rd hottest year ever recorded (NOAA, WMO).
• 🌾 Food insecurity: 343 million people are already facing acute hunger across 53 countries (WFP).
• 🌊 Ocean acidification: acidity has risen 26% since pre-industrial levels, threatening marine life and ecosystems (NOAA).
• 🏚️ Coastal risk: sea levels rising 3.3 mm/year, threatening cities worldwide (NASA/JPL).
• 🌳 Amazon tipping point: scientists warn large parts could shift to savanna by 2050 (Yale E360).
• ❄️ AMOC weakening: Atlantic currents could weaken up to 43% this century, radically destabilising Europe’s climate (Carbonbrief.org).
• 💨 Methane release: Arctic permafrost is already a net source of emissions (ICCINET).

This isn’t speculation. It’s happening. This is NOT normal.

Turning Grief into Action

As a mother, grandmother, and just somebody who believes a cleaner, greener, fairer world is possible, I refuse to accept that the future must look like this. We can change the forecast, but only if we act together – with urgency, care and courage.

Here’s what that collective action might look like:

• Eat differently: shifting to plant-based diets reduces emissions and protects land – this is one of the most impactful action we can all take – for our health, nature, our future, and our finances. (Sustainweb.org)
• Travel differently: cutting flights and embracing local adventure reduces aviation’s soaring climate cost. (flightfree.co.uk)
• Power differently: switch to renewable energy for your home, business, and community. Imagine solar panels on every roof, neighbourhoods pooling energy in community-owned grids. (Energysavingtrust.org.uk)
• Consume differently: refuse what you don’t need, reduce waste, reuse and repair what you have. Picture your town with a thriving repair café, a tool library, neighbours fixing and sharing instead of throwing away.
• Invest differently: divest from fossil fuels; back funds, co-ops and businesses building sustainable futures.(ethicalconsumer.org)
• Govern differently: lobby your MP to support the Climate & Nature Bill, and demand systemic change.
• Live differently – together: grow food with neighbours, swap surplus, join or start a community garden. Build resilience with one another, instead of waiting for governments to act.

These choices aren’t small. They are the building blocks of a future worth passing on.

Closing

When my granddaughter is old enough to ask me: “Nonna, you knew, what did you do?”
I want to answer with courage: I did everything I could.

Will you join me?

Could you do more – as a business or organisational leader, policymaker, or individual?

Contact us at hello@ukforgood.com to explore how we may help.