Conference “Future Paths for staying within the planetary boundaries” – June 2-3, 2023, University of Potsdam
Societies need to adapt to climate change and there are equally strong demands to change societal structures and individual behaviours to mitigate climate change. Often, the required changes have a high societal impact. Whole fields of employment, such as the coal and oil and gas industry, might disappear while other fields, such as wind and solar power, will be strengthened. Settlements might have to be relocated due to flood risk or desertification. Widespread everyday behaviours such as using cars, consuming energy, and eating meat might become more regulated or at least de-incentivized due to their impact on climate change. All of these changes produce burdens for some but often also gains for others. Moreover, they lead to a restructuring of our societies on a deep level – economic, social, and even cultural.
Some of the questions that the conference will ask in this context are:
- What mitigation pathways are open to us?
- How do we need to change our temporal thinking to manage climate change effectively?
- Who benefits and who suffers from necessary adaptation strategies?
- How can burdens be distributed justly?
- Who is responsible for moving societies towards living within the planetary boundaries?
- How can we reimagine economic systems that respect planetary boundaries?
- Which concepts and ideologies prevent us from making the needed changes?
- Which role does democracy and civic participation play in choosing and pursuing mitigation pathways?
If you would like to present a paper, please send a 300 word abstract by December, 15th to reibold@uni-potsdam.de. Full papers are due on May, 15th. We will most likely be able to cover some of the participants travel and accommodations costs.