Burning Ice #8

In search of … a political ecology 

The fifth report of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) came out in March 2014, in the midst of the turmoil of Belgian elections. Its tone is clearer and more explicit than that of all previous reports: things are going from bad to worse, and if the current state of affairs continues, the consequences will be catastrophic even in this century. You would think that at election time this is something people would respond to and focus on in the public debate. But the silence was deafening.

We first set up Burning Ice in 2008, in the aftermath of the previous IPCC report. Even then, the big surprise was the lack of meaningful reaction in society, including the arts sector. Since then, Burning Ice has attempted to be a trans-disciplinary platform for artists, scientists, theorists, etc., that is looking for inspiring, motivating and imaginative stories to form the basis of a political ecology and of an effective transition to a sustainable coexistence between man and his environment. 

Burning Ice # 8 is looking ahead to the UN climate summit in Paris in November 2015, also referred to as the last-chance summit. Yet again! What is needed to make this summit different from all of the above and, this time round, to reach agreements that will make a difference?