New book models wartime strategies to propel efforts to combat climate change

CONTACT:

Seth Klein, adjunct professor, Urban Studies

604.836.2272, seth_klein@sfu.ca

Expertise: fiscal policy, taxation, welfare policy, poverty, inequality, economic security, climate justice, and job creation.

Shradhha Sharma; University Communications and Marketing, 604.202.2504, shradhha_sharma@sfu.ca

Emphasizing the urgent need to address climate change and its devastating global impacts, SFU Urban Studies professor Seth Klein’s new book—A Good War—looks to Canada’s Second World War strategies for solutions.

“This project began as an exploration of how we can align our politics and economy in Canada with what the science says we must urgently do to address the climate emergency,” Klein says.

Drawing parallels between the current climate emergency and the existential threat of the Second World War, Klein suggests that wartime propaganda and community efforts mobilized at the time offer a pathway to how Canadians can come together now to combat the climate change crisis.

The wartime strategies can also be used to advance Canada’s transition to a carbon neutral, or even carbon-zero future, he adds. Klein is also the founding director of B.C.’s Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and is available to talk about his new book.

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