myclimate: In your book FOMO Sapiens, you write about 34 questions that keep you awake at night. Which of these questions is on your mind the most at the moment?
Valerie Huber: One is certainly the question of how we manage to adapt our system and our way of life so that we live and manage the economy within planetary boundaries, securing a future worth living for our descendants.
FOMO Sapiens is about the fear of missing out, but also about your generation’s fears about the future. How do you deal with climate anxiety without feeling powerless?
When people feel anxiety, they can fall into different modes: freeze, flight, fawn, fight. So instead of succumbing to shock and being paralysed – which would be the simpler version – we have to go into fight mode. Getting active and being committed is the best way to escape the feeling of powerlessness. This not only helps the bigger picture; it helps yourself, too.
You say you want to force your generation to wake up. What reactions do you get from your peers to your direct words?
Fortunately, very positive ones! Many young, but also older people write to me that they feel spoken to and understood. They often thought they were alone with these thoughts and feelings. It is so beautiful to read that the book creates a feeling of togetherness and provides hope. That’s exactly why I wrote it. By the way, the book was my attempt to get active and do something meaningful.
You call for radical changes – in the economy, mobility and consumption. What does “radical” mean to you specifically?
I think the word “radical” is completely overrated. What is radical? When politicians say that activists who glue themselves to the road are radical, it makes me laugh. We have to become much more radical – especially in our thinking! We are so limited in our imagination of how the world could be. The time has come to think big and take radical measures. It’s our only chance.
What steps do you personally take in your day-to-day life to live more climate-friendly? What has been surprisingly easy – or particularly challenging?
I stopped eating meat five years ago. It was hard at first, because I really liked meat. But it’s no longer a problem – I’ve become a big fan of vegetables! I also love travelling by train, even on long distances. For me, it’s become a relaxing experience, and it’s like working in a mobile office.
Imposing restrictions on your consumption is good and important – with moderation and aim, of course. You should still be able to enjoy life. However, that alone is not enough. We need major regulations at the global level that affect everyone. We need fair taxation of the super-rich, we must stop subsidising diesel, and we need a global energy transition. We cannot afford to let the gas and oil industries and mega-corporations with their lobbyists continue exploiting, polluting and destroying our planet unchecked.
As an actor, you use your reputation to draw attention to injustices. Do people in the public eye have a special responsibility? How political can or must art be today?
If art is not political and critical – who or what should it be?
Anyone who has even a small platform should use it to point out injustices. How can you sit still and watch so much human-made suffering happen in the world without saying anything?
We people in privileged Western countries have responsibilities, and we have not taken them seriously for far too long. Those who contribute the least to the climate crisis will be hit the hardest. Already, they’re losing their livelihoods, being forced to flee their homes and many are dying. And what does the West do? It cuts humanitarian aid and programmes such as USAID and continues to let people drown in the Mediterranean.
What gives you personal hope in times of multiple crises?
The beauty of nature – how immense it is and how quickly it can regenerate.
People who seek to make a difference every day. Young people who are already doing a lot of things differently and that we adults can learn from. People who act humanely and in solidarity.