Net Zero Festival: Alex Steffen on why the climate crisis isn't taken seriously enough

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: Veteran climate futurist argues 'the world we have built is no longer suited to planet we've made' at BusinessGreen's Net Zero Festival

Influential US commentator and writer Alex Steffen boasts a long an career in sustainability, social innovation and design, in addition to several years reporting on the interlinked climate and environmental crises.

He describes himself as a "veteran climate futurist", and his work on cities and ubanisation in particular has been widely acclaimed and highly influential, having been arguing the importance of sustianable cities to delivering a sustainable society since the mid-1990s. He is currently working on his latest book on the need to accelerate climate action - The Snap Forward - which is based on his newsletter of the same name.

At BusinessGreen's Net Zero Festival last week, Steffen delivered a fascinating lecture on how he views the climate and environmental crises, and the pathway forward for the global economy. The climate crisis, he argued, is not taken seriously enough, even by people working in sustainability, as there is a failure to fully grasp the wide-ranging, all-encompassing risks and opportunities it presents to society. His speech can be watched in full above.

All of the panel debates, keynote speeches, and presentations from the Net Zero Festival - which took place over three days from 29 September 2021 featuring hundreds of top speakers from business, politics and academia - are now available to watch again on demand by signing up for free on the Net Zero Festival website.

More on Climate change

UK greenhouse gas emissions fell four per cent in 2024

UK greenhouse gas emissions fell four per cent in 2024

First official provisional data indicates UK's total territorial greenhouse gas emissions are now 54 per cent lower than 1990 levels

Michael Holder
clock 27 March 2025 • 3 min read
UN Secretary General: Economic case for bolder climate action 'clearer than ever'

UN Secretary General: Economic case for bolder climate action 'clearer than ever'

António Guterres again urges all nations to step up to the plate with more climate finance and ambitious decarbonisation plans ahead of the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil

Michael Holder
clock 26 March 2025 • 5 min read
Climate impacts may be starting to spiral, but a sub-1.5C world is 'still possible'

Climate impacts may be starting to spiral, but a sub-1.5C world is 'still possible'

World Meteorological Organisation report shows CO2 in atmosphere has reached its highest level in 800,000 years, but the world can still avoid a climate catastrophe

Michael Holder
clock 19 March 2025 • 6 min read