Planetary dividend: Leadership as stewardship

The idea of the dividend is a compelling one because it implies a positive net result rather than a neutralized impact on the environment, let alone the mere offset of emissions or pollution. The integration of ethical concerns, moral drivers and practical action also addresses the aforementioned pertinent issue: the debate and actions pertaining to climate change suffer from chronicle paralysis at the interface of sustainability advocacy and climate change denial. Leadership as stewardship is a powerful but underutilized concept. Stew-ardship is to hold something in trust-deriving its meaning from the historical role of the steward as someone who was entrusted with protecting a kingdom and its resources while the king or those rightfully in charge were away or still underage. Stewardship reflects a clear sense of commitment and duty to others, and future generations in particular, expressed by the explicit subjugation of personal interests to act in the protection of future generations’ welfare.