How economics can save the world

With our current economic system, we are consuming huge amounts of resources and destroying the web of life on earth. The recently published Dasgupta Review, commissioned by the UK Treasury, shows in 604 pages that biodiversity conservation must become a permanent feature in all areas of policy and economy. Protecting nature's invaluable contributions to humankind is the critical challenge of the coming decades.

But how can this challenge be addressed and solved? These questions will be the focus of the exchange of international experts in the virtual discussion on 21.6.2021 (17-18.30 (CET)). The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin invites to the discussion, co-hosted by the Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP Cambridge).

Event information

• Monday, 21 June, 17:00 – 18:30 (CET)
• The event will be held in English
• The event will be streamed on YouTube.
• Registration is not required.
• We look forward to your participation in the discussion: Feel free to use the chat function!

Event speakers

• Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge and author of the Dasgupta Review
• Josef Settele, IPBES Global Assessment Co-Chair; Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Halle; member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment
• Julia Steinberger, Professor of Ecological Economics at the University of Lausanne; co-author of the IPCC 6th Assessment report
• Barbara Trachte, Secretary of State of the Brussels-Region, responsible for Economic Transition and Scientific Research
• Johannes Vogel, Director General, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin

Moderated by Akanksha Khatri, Head of Nature Action Agenda, World Economic Forum

"How economics can save the world" - Invitation and call for change.

Prof. Sir Partha Dasgupta (Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge) will personally present the central statements of the report.

"We have to act now, we have to change our relationship with nature now, we have to adapt our economic paradigms now. The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin wants to make its contribution to this," says Prof. Johannes Vogel, Director General of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. "We want to encourage change."

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) calls for a "transformative" policy change and has presented specific options for decision-makers. Is policy change in sight? Prof. Josef Settele of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Halle and member of the German Advisory Council on the Environment was co-chair of the IPBES Global Assessment and will share his view.

How an ecological and solidarity-based change can be started and shaped in a very practical way will be shown by Ms Barbara Trachte, a lawyer and State Secretary in the Brussels-Capital Region responsible for economic transition and research. She is responsible for the "BrusselsDonut" project.

But are doughnuts enough to preserve the web of life? What does "a good life within planetary boundaries" mean for the economic system? Prof. Julia Steinberger examines this question. She is Professor of Ecological Economics at the University of Lausanne and co-author of the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is currently in preparation.

If you want to drive change in a sustainable way, you have to learn from nature. What responsibility do research-based natural history museums have? Prof. Johannes Vogel, Director General of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, will describe which path the museum is following in this context.

The discussion will be led by Ms Akanksha Khatri, Director of the Nature Action Agenda of the World Economic Forum.