Towards a Sustainable Future in the Age of Polycrisis
The authors explore a holistic picture of a social transformation process to address the challenges of the age of polycrisis.
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Sustainability and Transition
FuturePod Interview with Drs. Megan Shipman and Michael Lawrence
In this episode of FuturePod, host Dr. Peter Hayward speaks with Drs. Megan Shipman and Michael Lawrence of the Cascade Institute about the current global polycrisis, and their recently published Positive Pathways report and accompanying workshop. Shipman, Lawrence, and Hayward discuss the four key factors proposed by Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon that define today’s polycrisis, provide
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Positive Pathways report
This Cascade Institute report explores how to translate an understanding of polycrises into actionable strategies to alleviate them. It suggests ways in which polycrisis analysis can build on existing approaches to systemic change to help chart positive pathways to better futures, by examining multiple factors — the sorts of systems changes required to avoid, mitigate
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Transformative Resilience: The Key to Governing Europe’s Sustainability Transitions in the Polycrisis
This report explores transformative resilience in the EU’s sustainability transitions within the polycrisis context. Using a conceptual framework of transformative resilience, it addresses the following questions: How can the EU enhance the capacity of its policies to anticipate, adapt to, or absorb shocks while maintaining their transformative intent? How can European policymakers prevent the polycrisis
The Disruption Nexus
Roman Krznaric explores the conditions in which crises lead to transformative societal change. He finds that transformative responses are most common in conditions of war, disaster, revolution, and disruption. The latter refers to “a moment of system instability that provides opportunities for rapid transformation” which is created by the “disruption nexus” of crisis events (typically
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Libraries in Response Session 103: “Polycrisis R Us!”
Libraries in Response, produced by the Gigabit Libraries Network, is a webinar series focusing on how libraries are responding to health, social, economic, political, and climate crises. In this episode, Drs. Michael Lawrence and Megan Shipman of the Cascade Institute discuss the polycrisis, explaining the origins and development of the term, why they think it’s
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A New Economy: Exploring the Root Causes of the Polycrisis and the Principles to Unlock a Sustainable Future
The report examines the systemic flaws of the current economic model, emphasizing ecological, social, and geoeconomic crises. It discusses the interconnected systemic flaws behind the crises and sets out guiding principles to reshape sustainability and accelerate the transition to a new economy.
Transition and Climate Crisis with Sabrina Fernandes at the University of Bath
In this video, Dr. Sabrina Fernandes discusses how to rethink the Polycrisis from an internationalist Global South perspective and how it relates to transition and climate justice. Fernandes begins by using an aerial photograph as an illustration of the influences human actions have on nature and the climate crisis. Fernandes then touches on topics such
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GAR Special Report 2023: Mapping Resilience for the Sustainable Development Goals
This report explores the critical role of resilience in achieving sustainable development within the context of an increasingly complex set of threats resulting from the deepening climate crisis and other hazards.
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Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability
Using expert solicitation, the authors identify 14 “evolutionary traps” (global, technological, and structural) that risk locking humanity into unfavorable (maladaptive) trajectories that seriously restrict its ability to adapt to the Anthropocene. These traps develop over four phases: initiation, scaling, masking (of harmful interactions), and trapping. The fourth phase involves one of five trapping mechanisms: constraints,
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