Global Polycrisis as a Pathway to Economic Transition

In this report for the Strategic Innovation Unit of the United Nations Development Programme, Zack Walsh argues that the underlying driver of the polycrisis is our unsustainable and unjust economic systems, and the polycrisis opens opportunities to transform those systems. Additional drivers include overshoot, inequality, complexity, and uniformity and interconnectedness. The article then considers two future scenarios – catastrophic collapse and global transition – criticizes green growth development pathways, advocates post-growth pathways, and discusses the role of international institutions in supporting positive transformations.