{"id":17843,"date":"2018-07-19T15:10:19","date_gmt":"2018-07-19T15:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/?p=17843"},"modified":"2019-11-06T09:48:06","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T08:48:06","slug":"what-a-green-and-peaceful-future-could-look-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/international\/story\/17843\/what-a-green-and-peaceful-future-could-look-like\/","title":{"rendered":"What a green and peaceful future could look like"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c<\/span>We cannot solve problems with the same kind of thinking that created them.<\/span><\/i>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

— Albert Einstein<\/span><\/p>\n

I started at Greenpeace ten years ago. 2008 doesn\u2019t seem that long ago, but the world was a very different place back then. \u00a0\u201cTweetstorm\u201d wasn’t a word; Wikipedia and the democratization of knowledge were utopian ideals, and social media addiction wasn\u2019t listed as a psychological disorder. <\/span><\/p>\n

Technology has changed our lives at a pace never experienced before. The global economic crisis, Trump, the refugee crisis, Brexit… these are just some of the symptoms of a broken system. Its demise has been accelerated, and in some cases triggered by the digital innovations of the past decade. There is a clear detachment between technology and our current societal needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Open-Pit

Leaking drums of sodium cyanide at an open-pit gold mine in Papua New Guinea.<\/p><\/div>\n

We\u2019re experiencing a deep systemic disconnection: an ecological, social and spiritual cultural divide. There\u2019s a discernible disconnect between the infinite growth imperative and the finite resources of planet Earth; between private ownership and the best societal use of property; between gross domestic product (GDP) and well-being. <\/span><\/p>\n

But the <\/span>failure of our current socio-economic system has also brought a strong desire to change the world and co-create a better one. <\/span>The Arab Spring<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Los Indignados<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Occupy Wall Street<\/span><\/a> spread new value systems and sparked political and economic initiatives that questioned the prioritization of profit over people and the endless growth paradigm. These movements used technology to envision <\/span>a <\/span>new, more inclusive, equitable economic system that operates within the environmental limits of our planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharing and circular economies were attempts in this direction. They <\/span>started in response to the economic crisis as people were pushed to utilize excess capacity, time and goods and companies started to suffer from the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity. Unfortunately, <\/span>as with many other ideas, they’ve been hijacked by the private sector and its main driver; growth. <\/span>The idea of a <\/span>circular economy<\/span><\/a> carries a <\/span>rebound effect<\/span><\/a>; meaning we could end up increasing<\/em> overall production, which would offset any benefits<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The environmental crisis can\u2019t be addressed in isolation; concepts like the sharing and circular economy will only work if they are integrated into wider strategies for economic system change. <\/span><\/p>\n

Just imagine\u2026. What if we shaped a new economy to:<\/span><\/p>\n