The Future Earth Asia Regional Center will host a virtual session entitled “Asia’s Role in the Anthropocene” at the Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021 (SRI2021) on 15 June 2021. The session will place the spotlight on Asia, looking at the historical trajectories and development pathways of the region and its role in the Great Acceleration and beyond.

Sponsored by Future Earth and Belmont Forum, the SRI 2021 is the world’s first transdisciplinary gathering in sustainability and will be a forum for fierce advocacy of sustainability scholarship, innovation, collaboration, and action. The SRI 2021 is happening on June 12-15, 2021.

Tuesday, 15 June 2021        9:00 AM JST

Session Summary:

Notions of the Anthropocene emphasize the gargantuan impact of human society in the transformations of the global system. While the usual framing of the issues emphasises the role of “humanity,” the measurements of different trends of accelerating changes in socioeconomic and earth system parameters have largely focused on the Western experience. This session places the spotlight on Asia, looking at the historical trajectories and development pathways of the region and its role in the Great Acceleration and beyond. Currently, the unprecedented processes of rapid economic growth, industrialization and urbanization in the region have made Asia a hotspot for GHG emissions, pollution, land degradation and biodiversity loss with the size of its population and geographies affecting emissions, pollution and habitats at the global scale. At the same time, development pathways in Asia play out in deeply rooted cultural and traditional contexts that value harmonious relationships between humans and nature. Can this cultural heritage lay the foundation for green development? Can this become a source of inspiration from Asia in transitioning to sustainability?

Registration for the SRI2021 conference is required to attend.