Climate Change, Copenhagen and Psycho-social Disorder

Abstract

After the failure of the 2009 Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change we need to approach analysis of the processes of negotiations and social action in a different way. In particular ideas of justice do not provide an adequate framework for dealing with the problem. This paper explores climate change and the sense of disorder it encapsulates, particularly focusing on the Copenhagen Conference but, at the daily life level, also looking at the disorder present in attempts to edit a book on climate change. Contemporary life is driven by, and conducted within, fragile and messy networks. In terms of politics it may be useful to listen to this disorder with care, rather than prematurely rush to a preconceived mode of ordering.