Our Mission
Founded in 2003, Post Carbon Institute’s mission is to lead the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world by providing individuals and communities with the resources needed to understand and respond to the interrelated ecological, economic, energy, and equity crises of the 21st century.
Our Vision
We envision a world where resilient, just, and sustainable communities coexist with nature, thrive within ecological bounds, and provide greater protection for both human and non-human lives.
The Issues We Address
Humanity is experiencing a dangerous confluence of crises in interrelated environmental and social systems—a ‘polycrisis’ that threatens the underpinnings of modern civilization.
Post Carbon Institute believes that the best way to confront this challenge is to build awareness of (a) the polycrisis, its drivers, and its trajectory, and (b) community resilience-building as an ideal response. Our specific areas of focus are:
- The Big Picture. The interrelated crises of the 21st century can’t be solved with simple technical adjustments. Understanding and responding to them intelligently requires us to think in terms of systems.
- The Great Unraveling. Humanity is entering the Great Unraveling—a time which individual impacts are compounding to threaten the very environmental and social systems that support modern human civilization.
- Community Resilience. A resilient community is one that can maintain its essential identity while adapting to change. Building community resilience is a critical response to the sustainability crises of the 21st century.
- The Energy Transition. We can no longer ignore the ever-rising financial, social, and environmental costs of fossil fuels; nor can we ignore questions about what a truly renewable energy future will look like.
- Limits to Growth. The sustainability challenges humanity faces are interrelated facets of one essential truth: the planet can not support ever-more economic growth and resource consumption.
Our Strategy
Post Carbon Institute provides individuals and communities with the resources needed to understand and respond to the polycrisis of the 21st century’s interacting environmental and social challenges. We help build resilience to withstand the polycrisis, and support efforts to make society more ready to take decisive and appropriate action. Specifically, we:
- Grow collective understanding of the tools required to make sense of the polycrisis, especially systems thinking, energy literacy, and environmental literacy.
- Promote community resilience as the best way to build thriving, relocalized neighborhoods, towns, and cities capable of withstanding coming disruptions.
- Support a growing movement of innovators and early adopters who can develop best practices and provide leadership both now and during future crises.
Our Theory of Change
Post Carbon Institute’s Theory of Change is to support the widespread adoption of more resilient, sustainable, and just systems as the polycrisis deepens, by supporting the innovators and early adopters who are developing and implementing these alternatives.