Mobilizing Hope. Climate Activism, Solidarity, and the Dangers of Plutocracy and Pessimism

08.02.2024, 18:30

Lecture by

Prof. Dr. Darrel Moellendorf, Environmental philosopher, Research Center Normative Orders, Goethe University Frankfurt

Welcome by

Prof. Franziska Nori, Director Frankfurter Kunstverein
Rebecca Caroline Schmidt, Managing Director, Research Center Normative Orders, Goethe University Frankfurt

The immediate and long-term dangers of climate change are increasingly recognized by people and politicians worldwide. Yet, the consumption of fossil fuels continues to rise rapidly and is even further subsidized. The impacts on humans, non-human beings, and natural cycles have reached a global scale. Particularly affected are the global South and poorer populations worldwide, whose development prospects are increasingly jeopardized, leading to impoverishment and climate-induced migration. Thus, climate change has become a significant factor in societal injustice. Industrialized countries are responding hesitantly to the challenges of climate change and the need for transformation, which can also be attributed to the substantial influence of the international fossil fuel industry. Their lobbying efforts have distorting effects on democratic decision-making processes and negotiation freedom in international forums. The great hope is that global climate activism can exert a counterforce, acting not only in the name of climate justice but also for democracy.

The admission fee is €5. The event is free for members of Frankfurter Kunstverein. No registration is necessary.
Please note that the event will take place in German.

The event is organized in collaboration with the Research Center Normative Orders at Goethe University Frankfurt and is part of the accompanying program for the exhibition Bending the Curve – Knowing, Acting, Caring for Biodiversity.

Darrel Moellendorf is an American environmental and political philosopher. He is a Professor of International Political Theory at the Institute of Political Science and a Professor of Philosophy, as well as a Principal Investigator at the Research Center Normative Orders at Goethe University Frankfurt. Additionally, he holds the position of Distinguished Visiting Professor in Philosophy at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Moellendorf has authored four books: Cosmopolitan Justice (2002), Global Inequality Matters (2009), The Moral Challenge of Dangerous Climate Change: Values, Poverty, and Policy (2014), and Mobilizing Hope: Climate Change and Global Poverty (2022).

Rebecca Caroline Schmidt has been the Managing Director of the research center Normative Orders at Goethe University Frankfurt since November 2012. She studied law with a focus on criminal science, criminal procedure, and penal law at Goethe University. During her legal clerkship, she worked as a research assistant at the chair of Prof. Dr. Klaus Günther and the Research Center for Criminal Law Theory and Criminal Law Ethics (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andreas von Hirsch). Additionally, she gained experience in banking supervisory law at the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Frankfurt am Main from 2007 to 2012. In 2020, Rebecca Caroline Schmidt was appointed Administrative Managing Director of the nationwide Research Institute for Social Cohesion.

Bending the Curve – Knowing, Acting, Caring for Biodiversity

13.10.2023 — 03.03.2024 | Exhibition