Environmental Transformations

American author and economic theorist Jeremy Rifkin was at Sciences Po on 17 October, 2019, for a conference and debate centred around the theme of his latest book, The Green New Deal: Why the Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028, and the Bold Economic Plan to Save Life on Earth. Predicting the collapse of the contemporary energy regime, he outlines a novel and ambitious plan in his book, and he shared some of his ideas and arguments with those in attendance. In particular, he warned them of the dangers of clinging to antiquated industrial and economic models that did not face up to the realities of today. 

On your marks, get set… the start of the new academic year is upon us! Some students will be taking their first steps at Sciences Po as freshmen, others will be returning to familiar ground. Like every year, a back-to-school ceremony is held on each Undergraduate College campus and for each of the seven graduate schools. This year, the central theme of these ceremonies is the future of our planet. See details below.

Xavier Timbeau, Sciences Po – USPC; Adeline Gueret, Sciences Po – USPC; Aurélien Saussay, Sciences Po – USPC et Paul Malliet, Sciences Po – USPC

Mary Robinson, now President of the Elders and climate justice activist, was the seventh President of Ireland, and the first woman ever to hold this office. She also served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002 and as Chancellor of the Trinity College Dublin for twenty years. In June 2019, she was the guest of honour at the Paris School of International Affairs’ graduation ceremony. In her talk, she gives graduates 3 key steps to do their part in the fight against climate change. Watch the video to find out what they are.

Despite an overarching negativity where China and the environment are concerned, it is set to become the leading power in the green economy. However, it is the political elective which must make the policies to make China’s future green. As a one-party-state there is very little green opposition should environmental reforms not be put into practice.

In honour of World Oceans Day and Oceans Week at Sciences Po, read this interview of Eve Isambourg, a Sciences Po student and oceans activist. Eve spent her third year abroad raising awareness on oceanic issues around the world, and spoke at the United Nations in New York defending our planet's oceans. (Interview originally published in 2018).

Stop & Go is a student association at Sciences Po that is bringing hitchhiking back into fashion. Trips, weekends away, or a hitchhiking festival - so many fun activities carrying an ecological message. Interview with the President of Stop & Go, Apolline Tarbé de Saint-Hardouin. 

France is currently one of the leading global users of pesticides in agriculture. Yet, nobody is currently in a position to assess the human health cost of the massive use of pesticides in agriculture. This situation is even more surprising given that the dangers of pesticides have long been studied by the two disciplines that are central to the field of environmental health: toxicology and epidemiology. Jean-Noël Jouzel, CNRS research fellow at the Centre for the Sociology of Organisations, discusses his findings in his article in Cogito, our research newsletter: Short summary 

While environmental issues weren’t at the core of the campaign for the U.S. midterm elections, Donald Trump’s climate-change denialism and full assault on the regulations put in place under Barack Obama have generated a broad and often effective response. Transformed into a referendum on Trump and his presidency, the midterm campaign was dominated by issues that amplified the ideological divide and fuelled the President’s demagoguery.

Tēnaka, a social business founded by Anne-Sophie Roux, recent graduate of the Sciences Po School of Research and supported by the Centre for Entrepreneurship, is the winner of the 2021 Alliance Social Enterprise Challenge! This social entrepreneurship competition organized by the Columbia Alliance awards a prize of U$25,000 to support the development of a social venture project. Thanks to this prize, Tēnaka will scale its solutions to regenerate the ocean and develop its partnerships within the French ultramarine territories of the Indian Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The social business, launched on the benches of Sciences Po in 2018, is now being accelerated by the Sustainable Ocean Alliance, a US-based organization supporting promising startups through its intensive Ocean Solutions Accelerator Program.

Tommaso Venturini, research fellow at the Sciences Po Medialab, is the scientific coordinator of EMAPS, the only social sciences project among the 12 winners of the 2015 "Étoiles de l’Europe" prize (Fr) that recognises research teams for their commitment to Europe.

Laurence Tubiana, a Sciences Po professor and one of the Financial Times Magazine Women of 2015, gave Sciences Po students some feedback on the climate change agreement reached in Paris in December 2015.

In Paris for COP21, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a stop at Sciences Po for a discussion with students on climate issues. Watch his exclusive interview for Sciences Po. “We are accustomed to welcoming people from the political and state spheres, and we occasionally receive people from the performing arts world, but never before have we had the two worlds embodied in one person”, said Sciences Po President Frédéric Mion in his welcoming address to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Six months ago, Sciences Po students held “Make It Work”, a simulation of COP21 at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre. The experience showed that breaking free of the “classic” rules of negotiation may well be the key to success. In an interview at the end of the simulation, Laurence Tubiana, who is representing French foreign minister Laurent Fabius at the "real" COP21, outlined the lessons learned from this very serious game.

Meenakshi Raina is an Indian student enrolled in the Master of International Energy programme at the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po. She is passionate about sustainable development and climate change issues, and a keen participant in the Make It Work initiative.

Who can finance the transition to sustainable development and how? Patrick Bolton, professor at Columbia University, and Pierre Ducret, the CEO of Caisse des Dépôts Climat tried to answer this question in a conference held at Sciences Po on 4 June 2015.

The opening ceremony of the COP21 simulation was held on 29 May 2015 at the Theatre Nanterre-Amandiers. “If you succeed in signing an agreement, I will use it as an example during the real climate conference (COP21)”, said Laurence Tubiana, French Ambassador for Climate Negotiations, to the 200 students participating in this event. Discover what happened in the video.

Nathan Stewart is a Masters student at Sciences Po and a participant in the student simulation of the COP 21 talks that are taking place for real in December 2015. As part of the Ethiopian delegation, Nathan has been working with his group in preparation for the three days of climate talks that are taking place this weekend, 29 to 31 May.

Professor Bruno Latour during the simulation of climate negotiations at the Theatre Nanterre-Amandiers.