Session 51-1D

Failing Images. How the Visual Discourse on Climate Change Changed Nothing in the Age of Visual Communication

There are significant parallels in the depiction of the horrors of war and the visualisation of climate change in media. Many activists, intellectuals and political actors believed that this was the appropriate approach. Markus Klink opposes and wonders whether this mode of portrayal was one more reason for the failure of political and societal action within the realm of climate change.

Markus Kink

Playing it safe or going the risky route: Europe’s Emission Trading System as a yardstick for taking (regulatory) risks to address (climate) risks

What is the crucial factor that could have taken climate policy to a new and really “serious” level in the 2020s? According to Michael Pahle the fundamental issue was the degree of risk society was willing to take to tackle climate change. Discussing the European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), he illustrates the risk in relying on markets to combat climate change. The upside? It could trigger disruptive technological and social innovation at a much larger scale and speed.

Michael Pahle