Overcoming the Inequalities of Green Transition
The International Summer School of Political Ecology 2023 will explore growing inequalities and address the question why concepts such as environmental justice or just transition are increasingly important in discussions on how to tackle the environmental crisis without deepening inequalities.
The consequences of climate change, mass extinction of species, loss of habitats and pollution lead to general environmental and ecological issues that are appearing more than ever on the political agenda, as they affect and influence us all, albeit in a very unequal way. They have distinctly negative impacts on different regions in the world, societies, classes, groups of people and other living beings. The most vulnerable are the least responsible for the environmental crisis, but are usually the most affected.
Policy measures for protecting environment and climate that have been or are yet to be adopted are likely to lead to more inequalities and other undesirable social consequences: undermining social cohesion and reducing social welfare, as well as preventing just solutions to environmental issues.
The focus of the Summer School will be on the growing inequalities within and between countries, and how our societies and economy can be organised in ways that do not exacerbate these inequalities, but also do not further harm our planet.
For more information, see here.
In two statements, internationally renowned climate-activists Naomi Klein and Bill McKibben have raised their voices to support the mass-action against coal-mining in the Rhineland that will take place right after our summer school. Naomi Klein, author of "This changes everything. Capitalism vs the Climate" emphasizes the importance of the German anti-coal struggle for the global climate: "Ge...
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Before an individual chooses to act, he or she requires a story or mindset to make sense of what the situation is about. Acting rationally in this sense means to act with reason, in congruence with one’s worldview and the individual interpretation of the “rules of the game.” Individual mindsets, however, are not fixed [...]
