On Thursday 9 October, the Club of Rome EU-Chapter hosted a lively discussion on the provocative book “Captured Futures – Rethinking the Drama of Environmental Politics” by Maarten A. Hajer and Jeroen Oomen, in a packed room at the Residence Palace in Brussels. Hajer and Oomen argue that environmental politics is captured in a narrative of technological innovation as the solution for all environmental problems. Lobbyists are capturing policymakers in this narrative, and the imagination of the population is captured as well. This keeps us stuck.
The authors stated that we need new, captivating, imaginative narratives, in addition to dominating doomsday stories. Court cases, citizen panels and moral street protests for the environment are hopeful developments that can help us break free from the technology narrative.
Discussants Yvon Slingenberg, Director Strategy, Analysis and Planning at DG CLIMA, European Commission & Christian Hey, Former Secretary-General of the Environmental Advisory Council of Germany, provided skilful reflections on the book, agreeing with the need for a change in narrative, and urged the authors to search further for a practical and realistic way forward to a narrative that can realise a sustainable world, that all groups in society can support.
Moderator Karl Falkenberg, President Club of Rome EU-Chapter, former DG Environment & DG Trade, European Commission, emphasized that communication is key to bring people with different viewpoints together.
Other participants added thought-provoking reflections and questions, which included various elements of a more constructive way forward to tackle the environmental crisis by taking social redistribution seriously.
