Room 10 - Social, Economic and Political Issues.

What do we do if our food supplies, electrical networks, piped water or other essential services fail? How should our social systems adapt, what should be discarded and what should be retained, or is a complete rethink necessary? Can we possibly work with nature to ensure the future of all living things on the planet, including ourselves?

The links below should help to answer some of these questions. There is some difference in level but also some duplication of content, so just scan to find what you like, and absorb!

Economic, social and environmental costs of climate change for humanity ..... and the planet.

• Carbon Brief:
  IPBES: Four key takeaways on how nature loss threatens the global economy - Assessment from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

• Change Oracle:
  Environmental Implications of Three Types of Economies: Brown, Blue and Green - Climate change, air pollution, and environmental degradation are driving efforts to transition away from the brown economy toward both blue and green.

• Ecological Economics Vs. Classical Economics - Ecological Economics focuses on the interconnectedness between nature, society and the economy, reacting to failures of the mainstream disciplines.

• Climate Civics:
  Design systems to transcend emerging & ongoing crises - Consider not only emerging from shock events for the moment, but working to making them less likely.

• Climate Majority Project:
  Welcome to the Chaoscene - Local communities helping to reliably access food, water, warmth, electricity, repairs and warnings against disasters, will become increasingly important.

  
  Dr. Rupert Read challenges us to confront the stark realities of climate breakdown and political instability.

• EcoWatch:
  5 of the World's Coolest EcoVillages - Ecovillages are intentional communities designed to be environmentally, socially, and/or economically sustainable.

• Guardian:
  Tackling climate crisis will increase economic growth, OECD research finds - Setting ambitious targets on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and setting policies to achieve them, would result in a net gain to global GDP in a decade.

  ‘Spiral of silence’: climate action is very popular, so why don’t people realise it? - Researchers find 89% of people around the world want more to be done, but mistakenly assume their peers do not.

  Economic growth is still heating the planet. Is there any way out? Impressive, fair-minded and partially interactive article on economic growth, ecological economics and post-growth.

• Happy Eco News:
  How Climate Solutions Are Evolving Beyond Technology - Attention is shifting to solutions depending less on complexity and more on system design, working within nature instead of attempting to engineer around it.

• Inside Track:
  We need societal therapy to overcome our addiction to GDP - Societies can get trapped in ‘societal addictions’, providing short term rewards but detrimental and unsustainable in the long run.

• Mongabay:
  Tipping points and ecosystem collapse are the real geopolitical risk (commentary) - Greater threat to global security than many conventional risks, undermining food systems, water supplies, public health, and state legitimacy across borders.

• Podcast:
  Wild with Sarah Wilson:

  
  Sarah Wilson: How to respond to societal collapse. What if the terrifying reality that our civilisation is in existential collapse is the prod that humanity needs to live fully and in attainment again?

• Revolve:
  How About A Social Circular Economy? - Organizations and enterprises prioritizing social impact with social and environmental concerns and economic objectives at the heart of their business models.

The links below are chosen for international interest rather than national interests that concern particular governments. For example, posts on the politics of climate change within the US will not appear unless directly relevant to global issues.