Chapter 8 - From Global Concern to

Local Action
 Overview
• About Wicked Problems and Leadership
• Recent Poverty Trends
• Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—The
State of Climate Science
• The Drivers of Climate Change
• Evolving Regime of the UN FCCC
• Four Views of Climate Change and Poverty
• Positive Impact Careers
About Wicked Problems and Leadership

• Wicked problems are big and have many causes and dimensions

• Interactions between this and other issues are complex in technical and social ways

• Knowledge on the issue is incomplete, perhaps contradictory, and constantly evolving

• Stakeholders have widely different views on the problem and preferred solutions; there
may be conflicting goals for those involved

• Wicked problems go beyond the authority and resources of one (level of) government

• Attempts to address them may lead to unforeseen outcomes that complicate matters
 Recent Poverty Trends

• Wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of fewer individuals, and the global

wealth gap grows

• High-income countries grow, albeit slowly

• Some middle-income countries have almost caught up

• Large, emerging economies are racing to narrow the gap

• The group of 50 least-developed countries fall behind  Bottom billion people

unaffected by global wealth creation

• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) helped lift millions out of (extreme) poverty
Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)—The State of Climate Science

• Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change

• Established in 1988 by UN organisations WMO and UNEP
• Consists of 200 reputable scientists who involve hundreds more scientists from
many fields around the world
• Purpose: To assess the science of climate change, its impacts, measures and their
consequences
• In other words: To tell policy-makers what we (do not) know and how certain we
are about it, and about the risks and impacts
• Issues assessment reports (ARs) every 5 years or so
The Drivers of Climate Change
Impacts: Accelerated glacial melting and sea-level rise; shifting of habitats for
plants and animals, and disease vectors  Possible species extinction;
change of rainfall and wind patters  More droughts and flooding, and
more frequent and intense extreme weather events
Drivers: Overconsumption in high-income countries; rising incomes in
emerging economies (especially the middle class)  Lifestyle choices
(overuse of cars), social movements, technological innovations (some
good for SD, others not) and government policies (underinvestment in
public transport)
Evolving Regime of the UN FCCC
• Entered into force in 1994 when 50 states with 55% of global emissions ratified it
• Key Principle: Common but differentiated responsibilities
• FTA: Green Climate Fund (since 2015)
• Universal membership: 197 countries, meet every 2 years at the Conference of
Parties (CoP)
• Secretariat UN FCCC in Bonn, Germany
• Paris Agreement Goal: Limit average global temperature increase to well below 2°C
above pre-industrial level, and to pursue 1.5°C
Four Views of Climate Change and Poverty
• Bio-environmentalist: Climate change, overconsumption, poverty and fast population growth
are threats to the survival of mankind  They should be slowed down with all possible
means
• Institutionalist: Speed up design and implementation of institutions to take clean energy, etc.
to the poor and improve access to land, water and other resources for all; urgently
strengthen global climate regime
• Market-liberal: Speed up efforts to free trade, level playing field for global business; stimulate
technology development and dissemination through economic incentives and voluntary
programmes
• Social Green: Reign in the global forces that cause overexploitation of poor people and the
environment; dismantle bastions of globalisation and encourage return to strong local
economies
 Positive Impact Careers
• Role models described in the book The Future Makers

• A job or activity is positive if it leads to something that is ecologically

sensible, socially responsible and, at best, financially stable
• Sustainable well-being affects at least one of the below factors
positively and none negatively:
o Material foundations for a good life
o Good health in clean environment
o Personal safety and security from disasters
o Good social relations, respect and cohesion
o Freedom of choice and action
End of Chapter 8
We must become the change we
want to see in the world
—Mahatma Gandhi