The red line

All over the planet, using the expression “red line” sends the same urgent message. It’s the last warning before things tip into a blurry and unknown zone where too many dangers become unpredictable and threaten balance.

The climate example

Climate specialists have been using it for many years, but they struggle to convince everyone (individuals, decision-makers, governments, corporations) of this urgency and to put mechanisms in place to address it. Many of these specialists claim that this red line has already been crossed, that the consequences are now inevitable, and the process irreversible. The many natural disasters we are witnessing unfortunately prove them right, yet, it doesn’t matter; we constantly prefer to push this red line a bit further, telling ourselves that it will always be possible to catch up. What??? We are human after all, and nothing is impossible for us. Obviously.

With a Canadian Humanity Index at 61.3, we are flirting with this line we arbitrarily set at 60. Some provinces may have already crossed it. Out of the fourteen dimensions defining humanity, five are below the passing mark. The highest-rated barely reaches 66 out of 100.

A Report Card on the Brink of Failure

Let’s transpose these results to the report card your child presents to you. Five subjects have failing grades, and nine others passed by a thin margin. How would you react? You would undoubtedly have a good conversation with them and encourage them to work harder to improve their record. You would also ask them to do a bit of introspection, to identify areas they could focus on more or where they could put in more effort.

The Humanity Index is exactly that. A measure that positions us. Information that informs us. An invitation to discuss, to question, and to take responsibility—individually and collectively—to promote better coexistence.

Humanity remains our greatest wealth, the one that sets us apart from other living species. The reflex we should all have is to protect it, because wealth, like everything else, depletes, erodes, and impoverishes if we don’t maintain it, if we don’t protect it.

Our goal is certainly not to sound alarms and create panic, quite the contrary, but when we see smoke, we should be concerned, before the fire starts.

Let’s not wait for our humanity to become a climate crisis.

P.S.: Take the Being Human test. A good way to start a reflection