Climate Action and Human Wellbeing at a Crossroads: Historical Transformation or Backlash?

GERICS was invited to the Crossroads Bonn conference, which set the scientific agenda in preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23), to discuss among top scientific leaders the future of global cooperation and the options for decarbonising the global economy.

Back to back with COP23, the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) together with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) hosted the international conference “Climate Action and Human Wellbeing at a Crossroads: Historical Transformation or Backlash?” in Bonn on 4-5 November.

Representatives from science, politics, business and civil society discussed driving forces and challenges with respect to accelerating the transformation towards sustainability. Especially, the key sectors of energy, transportation and land use need major transformations. Furthermore, it was discussed how to deal with nationalist and authoritarian counter-transformations that could undermine peace, stability, and human wellbeing and how to strengthen a new culture of global cooperation, substantiated by mutual respect and support. The conference issued a strong call for decisive steps to accelerate the implementation of climate and sustainability commitments.