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SUMMARY:Joint CSER/CEENRG webinar with Dr Luca Mavelli - Dr Luca Mavelli
DTSTART:20241126T120000Z
DTEND:20241126T130000Z
UID:TALK222655@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:113929
DESCRIPTION:“We are all in this together”:  Climate change\, collectiv
 e responsibility\, and the politics of existential risk\n\nFrom austerity 
 to the recent pandemic\, the refrain ‘We are all in this together’ has
  been increasingly used by political leaders to frame and manage crises. T
 his paper examines a largely neglected phenomenon: the adoption of this rh
 etoric of collective responsibility by corporate actors\, particularly the
  oil industry\, in relation to climate change. These campaigns signal a cr
 itical shift from previous industry strategies aimed at deflecting respons
 ibility for climate risk—namely\, denialism (manufacturing ignorance and
  doubt) and greenwashing (portraying harmful practices as sustainable). Wh
 at explains this shift from denying responsibility to embracing a collecti
 ve rhetoric that suggests shared accountability? Could this narrative of 
 ‘We are all in this together’ serve to dilute the oil industry’s rol
 e in driving climate change by implying that all are equally responsible\,
  potentially masking those most accountable? More crucially\, does this tr
 end increase the risk of extreme climate outcomes that could lead to catas
 trophic shifts\, heightening the potential for human extinction or civiliz
 ational collapse? This paper considers how collective responsibility rheto
 ric might obscure vital accountability and become a hidden threat to addre
 ssing climate change as an existential risk.
LOCATION:Syndics Room\, 17 Mill Lane
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