Manon Dufour gives us a mixed picture at the outset. While global support for climate action remains strong, climate policy has become ever more complex and technocratic in recent years. The urgency of the crisis is often communicated in such technical terms that it becomes disconnected from people and their everyday lives. Rather than merely discussing individual crises, Dufour argues that we should view the present as facing permanent disruption. In this situation, leadership means providing direction and showing people again that climate policy is a shared social project. -fw

Katrin Rulle

Stephan Thalhofer from the FES opens the discussion with a clear analysis of the political situation, using Germany as an example. Mistrust in political institutions is growing, while at the same time the fear of job losses is driving even trade union members increasingly towards the right. How can trust be restored, and how can progressive forces convince people that their responses to the climate and industrial crises are the right ones? Right from the start of the discussion, it is clear that climate and industrial policy must not only be effective, but also win peole’s trust socially and also be politically viable. -nk

Katrin Rulle