Dennis L. Meadows: «What Will Limits to Growth Look Like in Switzerland?»

As part of the lecture series «Sustainability Dialogue with Leaders and Pioneers», Dennis L. Meadows, co-author of the Club of Rome’s report «The Limits to Growth» (1972), will be speaking at the University of Zürich, followed by a panel discussion including the following personalities:

– Barbara Haering, European Research Area Board, ETH Board; Member of EB, econcept AG
– Rudolf Minsch, Chief Economist and Member of the Board of Economiesuisse
– Klaus Wellershoff, Chief Economist UBS AG, Member of the UBS Group Managing Board
– Moderation: Thomas Streiff, COO, The Sustainability Forum Zürich

In 1972, Dennis L. Meadows and his colleagues published the seminal book «The Limits to Growth» for the Club of Rome, which is considered one of the standard works of the environmental movement. With the help of a computer-based tool, the authors described possible consequences to economic development in view of the growing world population and limited natural resources. The most dramatic predictions foreseen in the book have not materialized – or have they just been deferred to a later stage?

The event strives to provide an updated overview of the environmental challenges, both on a national and a global level. Dennis L. Meadows will present new ideas about the sorts of pressures that Switzerland will encounter over the coming 2-3 decades. He will explain the measures Switzerland could take now to reduce the consequences of the accelerating crises in climate and energy.

Dennis Meadows is a systems analyst and environmental educator. He has worked as a professor at various American universities – successively in the fields of management, engineering, and social sciences. He designs sophisticated management-training simulations used in training programmes around the world, for example by the World Bank. Currently he is working to establish a training and research institute in Vienna, Austria, providing practical responses to the problems facing urban, industrialised societies due to climate change and global oil depletion. «The Limits to Growth» was awarded the German Peace Prize.

«Sustainability Dialogue with Leaders and Pioneers» is a joint initiative of The Sustainability Forum Zürich (TSF), the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS), ETHsustainability, and novatlantis. Leaders in the sustainability field discuss the challenges and visions of sustainable development in business, politics, and society within the framework of this lecture series. (pd/mc/ps)

Date: 30 October 2008
Time: 18:15
Location: University of Zurich, Auditorium (KOL-G-201), Rämistrasse 71

Public event, free admission. The presentation and discussion will be held in English.

Information:
The Sustainability Forum Zürich
Lagerstrasse 33
8004 Zürich
Tel. +41 44 299 95 99
[email protected]