Humans are causing climate change and biodiversity loss at alarming rates, yet we don’t appear very alarmed at the biggest existential crisis ever to face humankind. Articles and books abound describing the psychology behind what Andrew Mitrovica from Al Jazeera calls “whistling into the abyss”. Our inability to face what is happening and to continue in our blind pursuit of economic growth is a form of collective madness, what Amitav Gosh calls a ‘great derangement’, we are unable to face up to the realities of how this hyper object will affect our lives. Really addressing the interconnected issues is not as simple as recycling or switching a lightbulb. It demands politically and socially hard and unpopular moves such as degrowth. Is it possible to shift ideas around something that feels so antithetical to how humans have structured our values and the fundamentals of modern society?

To shift this particular Overton Window we’re going to have to buy into a new narrative. How does that happen? Who creates the narratives that underpin what we think, what we believe and how we behave? And most importantly, what pushes people out of complacency? What forces, levers, and voices are needed for such a substantial shift?

We invite you to join us to be part of a discussion on what to do about the emotionally difficult, politically HARD, socially MASSIVE elephant in the room – the fundamental inoperability of the current global economic system.

Speakers:

Paul Dickinson founded CDP in 2000 with an ambition of creating a global economic system that operates within sustainable environmental boundaries and prevents dangerous climate change. Paul previously co-founded Rufus Leonard Corporate Design and EyeNetwork, which was the largest videoconference booking service in Europe. He has served as a member of the Environmental Research Group of the UK Faculty and Institute of Actuaries. Paul has authored various publications including the book Beautiful Corporations published in 2000 by Financial Times Prentice Hall. The book introduced the concept of sustainability product marketing which is growing in significance as a force in contemporary commerce. Paul is Chair of the Trustees of the NGO ShareAction as well as a Trustee of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland where he has established a program of seminars and retreats now used by the responsible investment community as well as emerging social businesses. He is an advisor to the NGO Influence Map and is a trustee of the grant making Friends Provident Foundation.

Shari Friedman leads Eurasia Group’s climate and sustainability coverage, focusing on environmental and social policies and on trends affecting energy companies, industrial production, retail, supply chains, technology companies, agribusiness, and financial institutions. Shari and her team work across regions and sectors to help clients understand evolving policies and how they will affect clients’ businesses today and in the future. Shari has been involved with climate and sustainability issues for over 25 years. She worked for the US government during the Kyoto negotiations and moved on to roles in venture capital, consulting, and banking. Immediately prior to joining Eurasia Group, Shari worked at the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, where she led climate strategy and managed a team of industry specialists focused on renewable energy, green buildings, battery storage, sustainable waste, electric vehicles, low-carbon cities, and emerging green technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture storage and utilization. Shari received a bachelor’s degree in political science and music from Tufts University and a master in public policy from Georgetown University.

Jess Hines is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fingerprint Content. She has worked in the film and broadcast industry in the UK and India for 20 years, working on films such as Lagaan and Slumdog Millionaire. She founded a content company that worked with India’s film and sport megastars including Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, creating branded licensable content for mobile and web. She is an expert in the overlap between politics, action and entertainment and has led creative projects on climate change, renewable energy, air pollution and avoidable blindness in the UK, USA and India. Her passion is finding ways of using culture to create access to new audiences for example working with comedians to push climate change messaging into Republican audiences in Middle America on Funny or Die.