Economies in an age of limits: A time for (R)evolution
How can Earth’s limited resources be taken into the consideration of our economic systems? Finding solutions to this question will be the guiding principle at the 2017 edition of the Canadian Society for Ecological Economics (CANSEE) conference Economies in an age of limits: A time for (R)evolution, held at Concordia from Oct. 19-22.
CANSEE’s mandate is to promote an understanding of the dependence economies have on the ecosphere and explain the implications of this one-way relationship through research, education and policy analysis. The conference, co-hosted by the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability as well as by the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre, will take an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability.
Rebecca Tittler, coordinator for the college and the research centre, recognizes that solutions to our present-day environmental issues cannot be addressed from one single disciplinary perspective.
“Ecological economics is a relatively new, cutting-edge, interdisciplinary field that seeks to examine the crucial relationship between economic systems and natural ecosystems,” says Tittler. “Concordia is increasingly dedicated to such crucial interdisciplinary studies, as shown in part by its continued support of interdisciplinary units.”
The conference will bring together experts and researchers from Canada, the United States and further abroad. Conference themes include re-centering economies within the ecological limits of the earth, identifying social issues and crises that are linked with the current ecological challenges, and the role scientists and academics play in social transformation.
Tittler hopes that new collaborative relationships will be born out of the conference, and that constructive discussion will take place across disciplines to ultimately lead to new research and solutions.
Says Tittler: “The study of ecological economics is crucial to the changes that must occur in our economics systems if we are to maintain our natural ecosystems going into the future.”