Climate change and the economy are deeply connected. From the 1970s onwards, scholars started to question the economic model that was created following the globalization process which increased inequality and accelerated climate crisis. The economist Gäel Giraud explained why neoliberalism does not actually promote equality and human rights. Instead, real power is in the hands of banks and global markets. According to Giraud, we need to create a new kind of “modernity” and he puts the focus on different themes such as democracy and common property.

In order to put effective solutions for the environment in place, the world has to restore the rule of law and put an end to private property as those who believe in neoliberalism conceive it. The economist Emanuele Felice, on the other hand, sought to analyze the positive repercussions of the ideas of Enlightenment, on which our model is based. It offered new opportunities for prosperity and growth but the current model is no longer sustainable. The final discussion led to a shared conclusion: the mainstream economy has to change.