The Sustainability Agenda

In this wide-ranging, hard hitting discussion, Vijay Prashad explores the environmental crises we are facing today through a Marxist lens. At the heart of this discussion, Vijay highlights the failings of capitalism, with a particular focus on environmental externalities, and also critiques capitalism’s impact on the development of the global south. Vijay believes a continuing colonial mindset is undermining the commitment to the “common but differentiated responsibilities” embedded in the Rio conference –-- and the subsequent stalling of the Green Climate Fund. Vijay takes inspiration from peoples’ environmental summits such as the World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth (2010), the People’s World Conference on Climate Change and the Defence of Life (2015), and the People’s Nature Forum (2020). As an activist, Vijay is inspired by the growing number of movements who are standing up for environmental and human rights –in South Africa, Chile, Columbia, in India—struggles that he hopes can be replicated in other parts of the world. Vijay Prashad is an Indian Marxist historian and commentator. He's an executive director of the Tri Continental Institute for Social Research, the chief editor of Left World Books, and a senior non-resident Fellow at Chongyang, Institute for financial studies in China. He has written more than 20 books, including "The Darker Nations" and "The Poorer Nations."  

In this interview British novelist, journalist and screenwriter Ned Beauman discusses his latest novel Venomous Lumpsucker-a brilliant, darkly satirical and terrifying  novel  about endlings (the last of a species), the manipulation of extinction credit markets... the elusive Hermit Kingdom: described by The Times Literary Supplement as “a tale of capitalism, penance and species extinction.”  Fascinating, broad ranging discussion on extinction, literary fiction and the climate crisis, environmental satire, and the commodification of nature. Ned Beauman is a British novelist, journalist and screenwriter, the author of five novels; he was selected as one of the Best of Young British Novelists by Granta magazine in 2013.  His latest is Venomous Lumpsucker, “a darkly funny and incisive zoological thriller about environmental devastation and one very ugly little fish.”

Eye-opening discussion with Guy Standing on the deteriorating conditions in our oceans…  the destruction of fragile ocean ecosystems, marine pollution, habitat destruction and destruction of coastal communities, driven by overfishing, corporate exploitation, lax regulatory enforcement, increasing extraction-- and growing sea commodification. His analysis is a powerful indictment of contemporary oceanic governance—and an impassioned call for new forms of ocean governance centred around the commons. Guy Standing is a Professorial Research Associate at SOAS University of London and a founding member and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN), a non-governmental organisation that promotes a basic income for all. He was a programme director in the UN's International Labour Organisation and has advised many international bodies and governments on social and economic policies.  Guy has written widely in the areas of labour economics, labour market policy, unemployment, labour market flexibility, structural adjustment policies and social protection. He created the term precariat to describe an emerging class of workers who are harmed by low wages and poor job security as a consequence of globalisation.Guy’s latest book is Blue Commons Transforming the Economy of the Sea.

As questions surrounding Scope 3 emissions are rising on the business agenda, understanding why and how companies need to decarbonize their supply chains has become increasingly important. In this interview, McKinsey’s Peter Spiller shares his perspective on key questions around how to tackle Scope 3 emissions. Peter explains why Scope 3 is so important and highlights some of the key challenges companies face decarbonizing their supply chains. He identifies some of the key success factors dealing with Scope 3 emissions and also identifies major mistakes companies are making. A deep dive on Scope 3 emissions. This is an edited version of an interview with Peter Spiller for the Scope 3 Agenda podcast. Peter Spiller is Partner and Head of the EMEA Sustainability in Operations Practice at McKinsey. Based in the Frankfurt office, Peter primarily advises clients across industries including telecoms, high-tech, automotive, and consumer goods on operations transformation, supply chain, and procurement topics. He co-leads McKinsey's efforts in environmentally-sustainable operations and is a leader of McKinsey’s work in product development and procurement in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. Working across geographies, Peter focuses on environmental sustainability as he advises business leaders on ESG strategy, carbon accounting and tracking, supplier sustainability transformations, and supply chain decarbonization. 

American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist John B. Cobb talks about his half-century long commitment to the environment, and environmental ethics, his life long work as a theologian and philosopher. He talks about the recent popularity of his ideas in China and why, at 97, he has cofounded the Living Earth Movement to inspire global cooperation for the sake of all life on our planet--with a particular focus on the geopolitical relationship between the United States and China-a topic of burning importance following  the diplomatic fallout of Nancy Pelosi's recent visit to Taiwan--and China's decision to withdraw from vital climate talks.John B. Cobb an American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist and the author of more than fifty books. A key idea at the heart of Cobb's work is his emphasis on ecological interdependence—the idea that every part of the ecosystem is reliant on all the other parts. In 1971, he wrote one of the first books in environmental ethics, Is It Too Late? A Theology of Ecology. He is co-founder of the Living Earth Movement whose mission is to inspire global cooperation for the sake of all life on our planet, beginning with the United States and China. 

Deep dive on the philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) as developed in Bhutan. Karma Ura explores the origins of this radically different way to think about a nation’s priorities based on measures of individual and collective happiness and well-being of the population, relationship with the environment--and Buddhist values. Karma Ura talks about the development of GNH in Bhutan and explains how the results of five yearly GNH surveys is incorporated into government policy—and also impacts the success of various Bhutanese environmental policies (Bhutan is the only country to have extended forest coverage over the last century.)  Dasha Karma Ura is president of the Center for Bhutan studies and gross national happiness research, he a researcher, scholar, artists and historian. Karma Ura is a key figure in the development of the concept of gross national happiness and Bhutan, formulating the nine domains of gross national happiness and has led various Gross National Happiness surveys. He holds various international roles, including Executive Committee Member of the School of Well-being, Chulalongkorn University, and San Nagarprada Foundation, Thailand, and 2010 Member of the Reflection Group on Global Development Perspectives, Global Policy Forum, Germany. He is also a Member of the Chief Economist’s Advisory Panel, World Bank, representing the South Asia Region

A wide-ranging discussion with Hans Ulrich Obrist on ecology and contemporary art. Hans discusses his work as at the Serpentine Gallery in London which has made an important commitment to ecology. He highlights the  Gallery’s ongoing exploration of an idea of communion with the environment through is exhibitions and activities—and how he has been inspired by the work of artist and political activist Gustav Metzger. Hans also explores the potential fo climate and environmental art --and the role of the avante garde-- within an increasingly financialised global art market. Hans Ulrich Obrist is a Swiss art curator, critic and historian of art. He is artistic director at the Serpentine Galleries, London, which has embedded environmental and ecological concerns across its programmes and activities-- and research around ecology and climate change. He is the author of The Interview Project, an extensive ongoing project of interviews: so far, some 2000 hours of interviews have been recorded. He is also co-editor of the Cahiers d'Art review. He recently edited the book 140 Artists' Ideas for Planet Earth.  

Fascinating interview exploring the interwoven geopolitical, economic, and political history of Western democratic societies since the early 20th century, revealing the way in which the battles for energy and for resources has shaped  politics, the fault lines ultimately leading to many recent crises. Helen shares her perspective on the evolving relationship between the US and China—the underlying dynamics, emphasising how the Chinese leadership thinks in strategic terms about green energy –unlike the US. Helen also highlights the scale of the challenge of the energy transition which, she argues, is often underestimated, pointing out how energy transitions in the age of fossil fuels has largely been about more energy sources, not directly replacing one energy source with another.Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge and a fellow and Director of Studies at Clare College, Cambridge. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is the author of Oil and the Western Economic Crisis (2017), China and the Mortgaging of America (2010), and Might, Right, Prosperity and Consent: Representative Democracy and the International Economy (2008). Helen is a contributing writer to the New Statesman and has written articles for the London Review of Books, the New York Times, and the Financial Times. Her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st century was published in February. 

A focussed, and spirited, discussion with Lord Adair Turner on the work of the Energy Transitions Commission and the recent Energy Transitions Commission’s report on the role of Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR) in meeting global climate objectives… a report which argues that CDR, alongside rapid and deep global decarbonisation, can give the world a 50% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. This is a fascinating broad ranging discussion exploring different approaches to CDR, the role and varying structure of carbon offsets, validation mechanisms the role of carbon markets, the article 6 rulebook, and related questions. The discussion also touches on the ongoing role that financial institutions are playing supporting the fossil fuel industry.Lord Adair Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of major power and industrial companies, investors, environmental NGOs and experts working out achievable pathways to limit global warming to well below 2˚C by 2040 while stimulating economic development and social progress. He was chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking until January 2019, where he remains a Senior Fellow. He is Chairman of Chubb Europe and on the Advisory Board of Envision Energy, a Shanghai-based group focussed on renewable energy, batteries and digital systems. Amongst many other roles he has played, Adair was the first chairman of the Climate Change Committee (2008-2012) an independent body to advise the UK Government on tackling climate change. 

A deep dive with Timothée Parrique on degrowth thinking. In this fascinating interview, Timothee Parrique gives an overview of the latest research on degrowth economics, the compelling underlying logic-- and confronts some of the misunderstandings about degrowth, undermining some of the arguments used against degrowing the economy. Timothée highlights the growing adoption of degrowth ideas in the world of economics, and more importantly, by the IPCC itself—and he discusses the growing evidence that decoupling is not, and has not, taken place, notwithstanding the hopes that many have for green growth. “The new numbers we have tell us that that the decoupling we would need to see in order to make further economic growth in high income nations green…it just has not been delivered.” Timothée Parrique is a researcher at the School of Economics in Lund University, Sweden. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Clermont Auvergne and Stockholm University. Titled “The political economy of degrowth” (2019), his dissertation explores the economic implications of degrowth. Tim is also the lead author of “Decoupling debunked – Evidence and arguments against green growth” (2019), a report published by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB). He blogs at https://timotheeparrique.com and tweets at @timparrique.