Polycrisis? What Polycrisis?
Alastair Benn
Alistair Benn argues that the polycrisis, with its overwhelming notion of multiple inter-related crises, is an illusory product of social media technologies that overload users with “shock after shock” and…
Polycrisis Resource Library
The Polycrisis Resource Library is a growing collection of media that help to understand polycrisis, develop strategies to address polycrisis, and build a field of polycrisis analysis.
The Great Disruption has Begun
Paul Gilding
Paul Gilding argues that the world has reached “a multi-system tipping point” that will bring “the Great Disruption”: “a destabilisation of the global climate system at a scale that is…
Capital as Force for Good: Solutions to Close the SDG Gap
The Force for Good Initiative
Noting that the world is failing to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this report explores six key solution areas to bridge the gap, encompassing policy, public sector activity, technology,…
The Era of Global Risk: An Introduction to Existential Risk Studies
S. J. Beard, Martin Rees, Catherine Richards, and Clarissa Rios Rojas, eds.
This edited volume argues that humanity has entered a fundamentally novel era of existential risk. These risks range from global-scale natural disasters (like volcanic super-eruptions) to anthropogenic environmental destabilization (like…
Hazards with Escalation Potential: Governing the Drivers of Global and Existential Catastrophes
Maxime Stauffer, Jenty Kirsch-Wood, Anne-Sophie Stevance, Lara Mani, Lalitha Sundaram, Sarah Dryhurst and Konrad Seifert
This report identifies hazards that, when combined with corresponding vulnerabilities and exposures, could lead to global and existential catastrophes. It aims to gather governance insights on risk cascades through a…
Let’s Avoid ‘Trigger Fixation’
Michael Lawrence and Thomas Homer-Dixon
The authors argue that a trigger event can’t start a crisis by itself; some underlying stress or stresses must also be operating. They contend that leaders should pay far more…
The Polycrisis
Ville Lähde
Ville Lähde explores various considerations involved in the coining of new terms and concepts, such as polycrisis. He highlights in particular the difference between those who speak of the polycrisis…
The Human Ecology of Overshoot: Why a Major ‘Population Correction’ is Inevitable
William E. Rees
Using an evolutionary ecology perspective, William E. Rees argues that modern techno-industrial society is in a state of advanced ecological overshoot. Fossil fuels have enabled a massive expansion of humanity…
Stress Testing in a World of Compound Risks and Polycrises
Gregory P. Hopper, Greg Rattray, Til Schuermann and Ben Power
The authors explore how to approach stress testing and stress scenario design in a world of polycrises and compound risks. The authors advocate for adopting “polyscenario” approaches that use multiple,…
About the Resource Library
The Polycrisis Resource Library includes resources that:
- Comment on the polycrisis as a concept and as a present global reality
- Undertake similar analysis using different—but related—concepts
- Analyze crisis interactions among multiple global systems
Though not exhaustive, the Library strives to present a diverse representation of views on different aspects of the polycrisis discussion, and will be updated as that discussion evolves. Search for resources with the keyword search bar, or by using the drop-down menus to filter for type of resource, global systems addressed, and key themes.
Hawaii Wildfires Expose Need for Resilience in a Polycrisis World
Joseph Fiskel argues that the Maui wildfire reveals just how unprepared communities are to face polycrises. In response, he advocates systems thinking and greater resilience: “Rather than simply ‘bouncing back’ from…