Working paper on sustainable history – the responsibilities of academic historians in a climate-impacted world

This working paper was produced in early 2020 to start a conversation about how academic historians can help to address the climate and biodiversity crises in their professional practice.

Working paper on sustainable history: the responsibilities of academic historians in a climate-impacted world.

The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that ‘human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are the highest in history.

An open letter from Australian historians in January 2020 calling upon political leaders to do more to tackle climate change suggests that there is an appetite among colleagues to use our professional skills and positions to combat environmental destruction.

This working paper suggests ways in which to reduce the detrimental environmental impacts of our work as academic historians and opportunities for us to contribute to a more sustainable future.

These roles are fundamental to the function of our democracy and our economy, and allow for individuals to make a difference, however small, to achieving climate action and climate justice.

For more information, read here: https://sustainablehistorywp.wordpress.com/

A mention-worthy previous book on a similar subject is History at the End of the World?: History, Climate Change and the Possibility of Closure by Levene, et al.