Asymmetric flows,critical zones,and zero-carbon citizens

Abstract

In 2000, a short scientific paper by Crutzen and Stoermer suggested the Holocene epoch had been supplanted by a new age, the anthropocene, in which human activities had come to rival the great forces of nature in shaping geological and earth system processes. Out of this, a new transdisciplinary research area has emerged, drawing together social and natural scientists, historians, philosophers, and artists, amongst others. In November 2015, as part of a parallel series of events associated with the COP21 United Nations climate change meetings in Paris, the Collège de France, under the auspices of anthropologist Philippe Descola, hosted a two-day conference, ‘How to think the anthropocene? Anthropologists, philosophers, and sociologists facing climate change’. This article summarises some of the main presentations and ideas, including relational aspects between speakers.

Keywords

Anthropocene climate change conferences COP21

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