In this episode, Sarah Ladislaw talks with Dutch environmentalist Alexander Verbeek about his interdisciplinary outlook to climate change, which he terms  ‘planetary security.’ They look at the need for a multidimensional approach to making climate policies successful, drawing on decision makers in governments, the private sector, and society.  Alexander looks for signs of progress from all areas:  the United States, China, India, technology innovations, Fridays for the Future, the arts, and more. 

Alexander Verbeek is a Dutch environmentalist, public speaker, diplomat, and former strategic policy advisor at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is founder of the Institute for Planetary Security. Over the past 30 years, he has worked on international security, humanitarian and geopolitical risk issues, and the linkage to the earth's accelerating environmental crisis. Currently, Alexander is Policy Director at the Environment & Development Resource Centre in Brussels. 

You can follow him on Twitter: @Alex_Verbeek;  @Planetary_Sec; @ArtForOurPlanet 

Recommendations for Further Reading: 

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life after Warming by David Wallace-Wells   

Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis by George Monbiot 

How Did We Get into This Mess? Politics, Equality, Nature by George Monbiot 

Planetary Security: the security implications of climate change by Alexander Verbeek

Recorded in December 2020.