Pope calls for Dialogue and Mutual Empowerment

In his historic address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, Pope Francis called America “a land of dreams”, which he said can lead the world in a shift to deep, inclusive politics and economics that brings people together, eliminates harm, and guarantees dignity and reciprocity. 

Pope Francis has come to the United States with a very clear and universal message: there are injustices no free and conscientious people can accept and against which all people of good will should work together. Challenges like climate change, immigration and income inequality are not ideological issues, partisan issues or issues of opinion or preference; they are deep moral issues. And we must do our best to work in solidarity, to oppose these unnecessary injustices.

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

Introducing the People+Planet Project

Building Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs and Climate Agreements

  • Report on the July 23, 2015 discussion on the People + Planet Project, a Post–2015 Action Platform
  • Hosted by the United Nations Post–2015 Development Planning Unit Executive Office of the Secretary-General
  • Presented by Natalia Vega-Berry, Campaign Director of the People + Planet Project An initiative developed by The Global Brain

In response to the momentous query What is our responsibility post–2015 to ensure the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate Agreements are realized?, we have developed the People + Planet Project, to ensure actions will be taken by citizens, organizations, NGO’s and business following the announcement of the SDG’s and the new climate agreements at COP21.

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

CCL 2015: Full Conference Report

An idea whose time has come

In 2010, when Citizens’ Climate Lobby brought 25 citizen volunteers to Capitol Hill, it felt like a big challenge to get enough people to go the distance, to meet with all 535 voting members of Congress. This year, we brought 36 times as many people, and it is looking more like we will need more elected officials to welcome and build relationships with all the citizen lobbyists coming to make democracy work.

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

We are All Now Safer in our Freedom

On the morning of June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a basic right, across the United States. The ruling in the case known by the name Obergefell v. Hodges was 5 to 4, showing a tightly split Court, but effectively invalidating all bans on same-sex marriage, whether brought into effect by legislation, referendum, executive order or lower court rulings. 

Here’s why this is good for people of all political and religious persuasions: 

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

How Citizens can Catalyze Climate Action

On June 5—World Environment Day—we held a press conference to announce CCL’s effort, through the Pathway to Paris project, in collaboration with the World We Want, to build a worldwide always-active Citizens’ Climate Engagement Network. The press conference was conducted in association with the Climate Matters video interview series, as well as COY11, CliMates, IAAI GloCha, Context News, and the Association Actions Vitales pour le Developpement Durable.

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

Every Person Everywhere Counts

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

Quiet Revolt Stuns UK Pollsters

For weeks, public opinion polls in the UK have shown the contest for leadership of the UK government to be a dead heat, likely to require a complicated negotiation to achieve a new governing coalition. Nearly every poll showed the Conservatives and Labour to be hovering around 34 percent support each. No one was expected to win an outright majority. Late last night, however, exit polls showed something radically different: David Cameron’s Conservatives beat Labour 37 to 31 in the popular vote, and would hold an outright majority in Parliament, while the Scottish National Party won nearly every seat in Scotland.

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

The Vastness of the Open Water

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

Savoring Collaborative Intelligence

Joseph Robertson's avatar

Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).

Disruptive Optimism for Serious Change

We need non-expert voices in the room. No individual expert knows everything, many decision-makers are themselves non-experts, and considering stakeholders’ voices leads to more legitimate, relevant and viable policy outcomes. Significant improvements in the prevailing condition require disruption of the status quo. The status quo implicitly extends from the status quo ante, the prevailing norms that preceded the current state of affairs and on which the structures we know were founded. Expertise is rooted in an examination of these two states, and can provide a sound and reasoned reference for how to move into the future, but when we look to achieve a post status quo reality, where human conditions are greatly improved and the previously unavailable has become commonplace, we have to recognize that we are looking beyond what is known. Expertise unaccompanied by the power of imagination and a hot contest of ideas can lead to planning not well adapted to visualizing, comprehending or catalyzing disruptive optimizing change.

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Posted by Joseph Robertson

Joseph Robertson is Founder and Executive Director of Earth Civics (Earthcivics.org). He is chief strategist for the Climate Value Exchange, and a principal in the Good Food Finance Network, co-leading efforts to establish a new co-investment platform for food systems transformation. He previously served as Interim Director for the Food System Economics Commission, during its start-up phase, and as Senior Advisor, Sustainable Finance, for the EAT Foundation. He is the founder of Geoversiv (earthintel.org) and Liberate Systems (liberatesys.net).
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