How do individual and organizational understandings of what the Earth and climate change is shape policy and practices? It is vital to compare individual earth activists, scientists, ecoservice economists, and sustainable businesses based on their respective approaches to mitigating and adapting to climate change. The way we understand this world and our environment can have profound effects on how we approach the solutions. What are our perceptions of, and incentives for action toward climate change based on? Do we see ourselves as guardians of the environment, seekers of scientific truths, or participants in a sustainable global economy? Diversifying our understanding of climate change will allow us to examine how those perspectives shape our attitudes for the planet we live on, or in.
1. What is the role of the individual in a largely structural/societal problem like climate change? How can individuals navigate the choices they have the constraints on the choices that are available to them?
2. Technology and markets are implicated as root causes of climate change (given how they have locked society into the use of fossil fuels). Can we rely on them as the solution to climate change as well?
3. We need significant transitions relatively quickly in our energy systems, transportation systems, and economic drivers away from fossil fuels. Perhaps we need a broader sustainability transition more generally. From your perspective, what are the key factors for the kind of transitions whether it be technological, social, economic, political?
4. Inequality is often considered a key driver of activities that generate climate change. What role then is there for equity considerations—geographical, generational--in attempting to address climate change? How do we integrate equity into the global response to climate change?
