Derailment risk: A systems analysis that identifies risks which could derail the sustainability transition

by Laurie Laybourn, et al. in Earth Systems Dynamics…How will the effects of climate change, nature loss, and other environmental change impact our ability to tackle the causes of these problems? There is already a high demand on resources to respond to worsening climate shocks, knock-on impacts for areas such as food production and health, and the many other growing consequences of changes to the Earth system (Pörtner et al., 2022). These impacts are expected to increase in a warmer future, placing ever greater demands on our attention and resources as we respond to worsening conditions and larger crises.

Cli-Fi—helping us manage a crisis

by Howard Frumkin in the British Medical Journal…Cli-fi may be important for our patients as they come to grips with the looming climate crisis—a hyper-object too vast to grasp, a threat too frightening to confront directly, a challenge that can feel paralysing. Indeed, health professionals may find cli-fi helpful in the same way. Cli-fi may function in at least three relevant domains: cognitive, emotional, and behavioural.

Holding states to account: do humanitarians undermine civil society?

by Zainab Moallin in ODI.org…Are humanitarian efforts, despite their best intentions, diminishing civil society’s capacity to advocate for systemic change with the state? How do interactions with the state shape the roles of CSOs seeking to represent vulnerable and marginalised segments of society? And how are CSOs being employed as part of the dominant international aid architecture to maintain ‘business as usual’ and limit state-led crisis response?

Our polycrisis demands a radically new approach to risk management

By Ruth Richardson in Open Access Government…A fundamental part of the problem is that our current tools and strategies aren’t designed to assess the types of systemic risks that we face: risks that manifest as extreme global shocks, interconnect with one another, and turn into long-term crises. More often than not, risk assessment is siloed or focused only narrowly on certain issues or “known” problems.

More in this tag

Jul 06 2023

Global polycrisis: The causal mechanisms of crisis entanglement

by Dr. Michael Lawrence at The Cascade Institute….. In this framework, a global crisis arises when one or more fast-moving trigger events combines with...
May 09 2025

The planetary politics of everyday life

by Nils Gilman in Small Precautions…In conclusion, the analysis provided by La Fabrique Écologique powerfully argues that the ecological transition in France, and...
May 02 2025

Casual Loop Diagrams handbook

by Michael Lawrence…Like many other forms of systems diagrams (and network diagrams), CLDs are composed of elements and connections. But unlike many others, CLDs...
May 01 2025

“Putting America First” — Undermining health for populations at home and abroad

by Christopher P. Duggan, M.D., M.P.H., et al. in The New England Journal of Medicine…In the initial months of the Trump administration, numerous executive orders...
May 01 2025

Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

by Damian Carrington in The Guardian…Action urgently needed to save the conditions under which markets – and civilisation itself – can operate, says senior...
Apr 30 2025

Bioregionalism in practice: Weaving local solutions in a global context

Webinar hosted by Regenerosity…This webinar kicks off a new series of bioregional conversations, designed to deepen understanding, improve practice, and expand...
Apr 29 2025

If you want peace, prepare for war—an ancient lesson Canada must remember

by Thomas Homer-Dixon at The Cascade Institute…If you want peace, prepare for war. This ancient Roman aphorism is starkly relevant to Canada’s situation today, no...
Apr 28 2025

Welcome to the chaoscene

by Rupert Read in aeon.com…The climate crisis is here. In order to thrive in these dangerous and precarious times, we must build resilient communities.

Apr 25 2025

Bioregioning: the defining practice of regenerative cultures

by Daniel Wahl in Medium…..Bioregions define the appropriate scale for regional self-reliance, responsible environmental action and human participation in the...
Apr 24 2025

Systems Thinking For Social Change

A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to...
Apr 24 2025

DAY ZERO

One City's Response to a record-breaking drought  Day Zero is an opportunity to capture some of the perspectives and experiences of the various sectors as the water...