COVID-19, Climate, Collapse: Is There Any Hope?

Global Governance Forum webinar on Zoom for a discussion with Arthur L. Dahl

on:
 COVID-19, Climate, Collapse: Is There Any Hope?

We are facing multiple crises threatening our future and that of coming generations. The climate crisis is accelerating, biodiversity is collapsing, the pandemic is far from over and the economy may be next. What hope is there for the future? How can we prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead? What do we say to our children and grandchildren? Is this the end of civilization, or perhaps a crisis of adolescence before reaching a new maturity? Armed with systems thinking and some essential values, we can find positive ways to respond to the environmental, social and economic challenges before us, as well as the inner struggles we must go through as we try to achieve our higher human purpose. Drawing on themes from his recent book “In Pursuit of Hope: A Guide for the Seeker,” Dr. Dahl will explore how we can start building the better world that can emerge from the chaos of today.

Dr. Arthur Lyon Dahl of Geneva, Switzerland, has more than 30 years international experience in sustainable development and environment. He is a retired Deputy Assistant Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), where he was Deputy Director of the Oceans and Coastal Areas Programme, Coordinator of the UN System-wide Earthwatch and first Director of the Coral Reef Unit. He has coordinated the UNEP/University of Geneva Program of Advanced Studies in Environmental Diplomacy and is a consultant to international organizations and research programs on environmental assessment, observing strategies, indicators of sustainability, coral reefs, biodiversity, islands, environmental education, and social and economic development. He holds an AB in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a PhD in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A specialist on small islands and coral reefs, he spent many years in the South Pacific as Regional Ecological Advisor with the Pacific Commission, and organized the Pacific Regional Environment Program. He was in the Secretariat of the Rio Earth Summit to prepare Agenda 21, the global action plan for sustainable development, and organized several parallel events at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) and, more recently, during the Paris Accord on Climate Change (2015). He is President of the International Environment Forum and on the governing boards of Ethical Business Building the Future and the Global Governance Forum. He has published many scientific papers and books including The Eco Principle: Ecology and Economics in Symbiosis and In Pursuit of Hope: A Guide for the Seeker. His current interests include integrating ecology and economics, global strategies for environmental observing and assessment, and indicators of sustainability.

Augusto Lopez-Claros is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. RSVP: alopezclaros@gmail.com