Klimata krīze un utopiskā domāšana

Abstract

The issue of anthropogenic climate change has been topical for more than three decades. Recently the term “climate crisis” also has been widely used. Its managing is typically formulated as a global “fight” against climate change. So far, this fight has not achieved the expected results. In this article, we offer an interdisciplinary approach to the issue of climate change. First, we look at the history of this topic, which includes not only scientific but also political aspects. Then we assess the role of mass media as mediators between scientists and society. When we turn to political aspirations to fight against climate change, the question arises – can climate crisis be understood as a problem with a clear solution at all? In the article, we consider the possibility that the term “wicked problem”, used in social sciences, is appropriate for understanding this problem. Wicked problems are characterized by the feature that the attempts to solve them typically lead to new problems, so it is hard or even impossible to find a completely successful solution. Finally, we offer another philosophical understanding of the fight against climate change – understanding it not as a problem to solve but as the expression of utopian and mythological thinking.