new enlightenment that suits the world and is in default, renewable energy is zero-emission after
line with sustainable development (Weizsäcker & infrastructure is in place. Another recent report by
Wijkman 2018). Its main objectives are to strike a the Club of Rome (Randers et al. 2018) emphasizes
balance between humans and nature, between that such a transformation is entirely possible.
the short and long term, and between the interests What is still needed is a common political will and
of the public authorities and the private sector. transformational leadership to bring about this
Ugo Bardi introduced the concept of “Seneca revolution to renew the energy system.
effect” in his book (2017) based on a line written
by the ancient Roman Stoic Philosopher Lucius
Annaeus Seneca: “Fortune is of slow growth, but
ruin is rapid”. The earth is finite and the quest for
unlimited growth in population, material goods,
pollution etc. would eventually lead to a crash,
which is typically sudden and often unexpected.
Sirkka Heinonen
It is especially important to think together about system and society as a whole.
answer is inevitably an emission-free world. The movement. All actors can implement the Action
fossil world is literally a fossil – the quest is now for Plan - governments, civil society and businesses.
a fossil-neutral and emission-free world, requiring The Club of Rome hopes that this plan will be the
the transformation of the entire energy system to subject of focused discussion and planning events
renewable energy. As for growth, Pentti Malaska, in different countries.
a pioneering professor of futures research, has
developed the concept of neo- growth alongside
to question concepts and issues, reframe them human economic activity were not very obvious. possible in terms of environmental impact and
and paths. Instead, in today’s full world, we are simply on an emissions, of consuming scarce resources and in
Understanding the concept of growth in terms of unsustainable path unless our policies, goals and promoting as much as possible intangible growth.
GDP is outdated and deserves a thorough rethink. values are changed. However, “we still behave as Creation of products and services must be based
Also, the idea of progress with material growth has if the world were empty, with ample space and on harnessing renewable energy.
become obsolete, which means that civilization resources for the indefinite future”.
result
of
climate
change,
serious
disadvantages, such as extreme weather events,
time - humans dominate all aspects of our start emerging and are becoming concretely
planet. Herman Daly has long been a critic of visible. Indicators are needed to illustrate the
the “growth mania” of economic growth alone. operation of this “full” world. However, they must be
He has presented a simple but at the same time explicit, and preferably also visualized, in addition
astonishingly clear parable of the “empty world & to numerical and verbal descriptions, so that the
full world” (Daly 2015). In an empty world, where messages reach the decision makers. A recent
for hundreds of years the population was not report from the Club of Rome, ‘Come On’, calls for
HUMAN FUTURES
In futures studies, increased emphasis is being
placed on actors who are making the change.
Citizens appear to be the heralds of the new
system. We e are witnessing the emergence
of a peer to peer society in which citizens are
becoming producers of renewable energy , not
just consumers. The key questions for political
decision-making are
how to remove obstacles
and barriers to citizens’ own energy production
and
consumption,
and
will
this
pioneering
renewable energy revolution create a new story
for sustainable futures?
However, we live in a powerful Anthropocene
22
Call for Climate Action--was launched in 2015 1
in partnership with the We Don’t Have Time
practice. Material growth must be as low as
a
This Climate Emergency Plan - A Collaborative
From the point of view of climate change, the substantial, the environmental consequences of
As
is too slow and, as a necessary measure to awaken
to change the current economic and financial
One of the key principles of futures research is
must also be redefined.
the existential threat of climate change. Change
Too often, the focus is on anticipating likely futures.
- it just needs to be put into carbon-neutral
development
report has sent a serious reminder to humanity of
is proposing a Climate Change Emergency Plan
Growth as such does not need to be abandoned
alternative
Club of Rome highlights how the recent IPCC
types of future: potential, probable and desirable.
or beyond degrowth thinking (Malaska 2011).
create
of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The
decision-makers and all actors, the Club of Rome
Europe, Mexico, and the whole world to go?
ECO-CIVILIZATION
in society as a whole and to the vigorous promotion
Futures studies emphasizes that there are three
our desired future - where do we want Finland,
Neo-Growth as a cradle of
The Energy Revolution is linked to systemic change
The world needs an energy revolution based on
renewable energy:could this radical vision be the
desired future for all? (Heinonen and Karjalainen
2018). 2 A bold vision is needed and it must be jointly
drafted with genuine commitment of various
No system is strictly zero-emission, but by
1
www.bsbiz.eu/news/the-club-of-rome-climate-emergency-
plan-a-collaborative-call-for-climate-action/
2 The book also contains teaching material for high school,
vocational school and university level.
HUMAN FUTURES
23