'Fossil fuels are the biggest contributor to climate change, which, in turn, is thekey driver of all other environmental problems, such as changing hydrologicalpatterns, biodiversity loss, as well as air, water and soil pollution. All of this isdetrimental to human health and wellbeing. Scholars argue that a global temperatureincrease of 1°C is the just objective and that the global system must acceleratethe phase-out of fossil fuels to prevent significant harm to people and irreversibleharm to Earth's life-supporting systems.This lecture will discuss the need for abandoning fossil fuel, why it's not happening,and how this can be countered by social movements and independent courtsproviding access to climate justice. It then discusses the bigger picture of crossedplanetary boundaries. Research into 'just boundaries' shows we must acceleratemultilateralism, not retreat into nationalist rights to pollute. When resources arescarce, three rational actor responses often emerge: neo-liberal capitalist, hegemonicstate-centered, and polycentric approaches. However, only a social practicemodel building on multilateral goals and principles, institutionalised in a possibleglobal Constitution, could help us address our dire situation. Though seeminglyimpossible today, in five years, the world may call for such a dream.'
