Climate
How fast should we leave fossil fuels behind, and must growth itself slow to save the planet? It is the question that sets economists against ecologists. Wangari Maathai, who planted forests against poverty and drought, sits at the table with Elinor Ostrom, Margaret Thatcher and John Maynard Keynes. Where each of them lands is for the debates to tell.
- Debates
- 20
- Council voices
- 27
- Last debated
- 2 July 2026
The council in action
What would they do about climate?
Each thinker’s concrete moves, drawn straight from their debates.
HS
Helmut Schmidt
Explore Schmidt →- Diversify Lebanon's energy imports away from Syrian dependence through new regional partnerships.How can we create long term peace in Libanon
- Maintain European economic growth to preserve leverage over Chinese climate policy.Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Increase energy independence through domestic renewable capacity before considering degrowth.Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
EO
Elinor Ostrom
Explore Ostrom →- Replicate the Rhine-Alpine corridor's joint management body for every TEN-T corridor, giving each body real enforcement authority.Why don't EU countries invest in mutual train lines to reduce CO2 emissions?
- Design corridor rules with the member states that use each route, then nest those rules within graduated EU-level sanctions for defection.Why don't EU countries invest in mutual train lines to reduce CO2 emissions?
- Extend *waterschappen* authority to set binding input rules covering pesticide use and groundwater extraction for bulb growers.How can the Netherlands improve the sustainability reputation of its flower bulb industry?
WM
Wangari Maathai
Explore Maathai →- Transfer green technology patents to Global South nations without licensing fees.Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Strip certification scheme design authority from exporters and the Netherlands Board of Tourism; transfer it to affected communities.How can the Netherlands improve the sustainability reputation of its flower bulb industry?
- Require public disclosure of aquifer depletion and pesticide load data, disaggregated by growing region, not by brand.How can the Netherlands improve the sustainability reputation of its flower bulb industry?
FD
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Explore Roosevelt →- Design every long-term programme with payroll-style contributions so future beneficiaries become an immediate political constituency.Can democracy still solve long-term problems?
- Build institutional stakeholders into the programme's funding structure before opponents can mobilize against it.Can democracy still solve long-term problems?
- Create federal housing construction programs to build affordable units directly when private markets fail.How can we solve an urgent problem like housing shortage?
LK
Lee Kuan Yew
Explore Yew →- Build economic strength to influence Chinese climate policies from position of leverage.Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Insulate compulsory long-term savings mechanisms, modelled on the CPF, from electoral revision by statute.Can democracy still solve long-term problems?
- Separate thirty-year infrastructure and pension planning into dedicated agencies shielded from annual budget politics.Can democracy still solve long-term problems?
Browse by topic
Recurring dilemmas
The energy transition
10 debatesHow fast can societies move off fossil fuels without breaking the economy?
- Why don't EU countries invest in mutual train lines to reduce CO2 emissions?
- Should the US government's fast-track loan to Vulcan Elements, a firm with ties to a ruling official's family, be considered corruption or legitimate governance?
- Who should pay for the added cost of sustainable kerosene in Europe?
- Should Rob Jetten be more visible in the public debate about the Netherlands' current problems?
- Should Groningen's gas fields remain open for emergency situations?
- Should the Dutch government reopen the Groningen gas field to secure energy supplies, and how should it compensate affected residents?
Growth vs the planet
6 debatesMust we slow growth to save the climate, or can we grow our way out?
- How can the Netherlands improve the sustainability reputation of its flower bulb industry?
- How can we solve an urgent problem like housing shortage?
- How can we create long term peace in Libanon
- Who would win from European degrowth—the planet, China, or nobody?
- Who should pay for the added cost of sustainable kerosene in Europe?
- How do we balance the acute need for economic growth and housing construction with legal obligations and the urgent need to reduce nitrogen emissions and protect biodiversity?
Nature & ecosystems
5 debatesDo we restore nature by stepping back, or by managing it?
- How can the Netherlands improve the sustainability reputation of its flower bulb industry?
- Should we restore ecosystems by leaving nature alone and reducing human intervention?
- How do we balance the acute need for economic growth and housing construction with legal obligations and the urgent need to reduce nitrogen emissions and protect biodiversity?
- Should the US government refuse green cards to people who have criticized Israel and support the Palestinian cause?
- What are humanity's biggest mistakes in human nature, and how do they show up in the world we're living in now?
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