In times of great societal changes and challenges such as climate change, the need for new ways of thinking and acting have become urgent. Together with campaigner and writer Ed Straw, BCSSS board member and IFSR president Ray Ison has published a new book to uncover “The Hidden Power of Systems Thinking. Governance in a Climate Emergency.” They have created a persuasive, lively book that shows how systems thinking can be harnessed to effect profound, complex change.

Corporate interests, lobbyists, or outdated political and government systems often pose obstacles to effective action. Ison and Straw show how and why failure in governance is at the heart of the collective incapacity to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergency. They go beyond analysis of the problem and propose 21 principles that demonstrate how incorporating systems thinking into governance would enable us to break free of historical shackles.

This book will be inspiring reading for students of systems thinking that want to understand the application of their methods, specialists in change management or public administration, activists for systems change as well as decision makers wanting to effect challenging transformations. It is for anyone with the ambition to create a sustainable and fair world.