Climate Futures
Multilateralism has been declared to be at a dead end by Foreign Policy, “broken” by Politico, and “languishing” by the Diplomatic Courier. The social challenges that drive multilateral processes – such as climate change, biodiversity, plastics, health, oceans, migration, and equity – are clearly urgent, but the glacial pace of global processes and cavernous gaps between agreements and actions will continue to stymie success.
While global agreements are a crucial way to foster international cooperation and collaboration, this process has not yet been effective in accelerating climate action. 'Minilateral' approaches – where small groups of countries form alliances to address common priorities – are gaining prominence as a tactic to bridge gaps between global processes and local action. Building on this, regional alliances benefit from shared context and history when grappling with climate change. These groups are more nimble than multi-lateral efforts when it comes to devising and testing tactics. Their proximity promises to foster understanding and shared problem-solving for long-term outcomes.
Activities to Date
Flipping the Model: Leveraging Academic Perspectives to Reinvent Multilateralism
September 2024
How can policymakers balance global climate agreements with local conditions? How can scientists shape policy? These questions defined a panel discussion between Dr. Maria Ivanova (FAS, YSE), Director of the Northeastern University School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, former President of Costa Rica, and Philip Osano, Director of the Africa Centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute, during Yale @ Climate Week NYC in September 2024.
Overcoming Global Gridlock: Regional Collaboration on Climate Action
April 2025
Global negotiations come with high financial and environmental costs. The climate negotiations have been burdened by both historic and ongoing geopolitical tensions – both writ large and specific to climate change – and have accomplished little in the decades since they began. In April 2025, the MacMillan Center hosted a faculty brainstorming session on the potential of regional collaboration as a more nimble and effective option for impact. This was followed by a public event with former Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada and Maria Ivanova (FAS, YSE), the Director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Development at Northeastern University.
Humanities and Social Change
Creative work has the potential to inform and inspire change. Performances, visual displays, films, design, the written word, and multisensory experiences provoke thought, open minds, and catalyze connections. While sometimes dismissed as non-essential, the human element of the humanities has deep potential to raise awareness, foster empathy, provoke dialogue, elevate marginalized populations, and spotlight opportunities for connection and change.
With faculty members from Yale’s fine arts schools and departments and in consultation with the Yale Paul Mellon Centre in London, MacMillan is cultivating a set of exhibits, events, and discussions to advance this concept.
Activities to Date
Water Water Everywhere: insights from South Asia into climate pressures on the Global South
October 2025
How can policymakers balance global climate agreements with local conditions? How can scientists shape policy? These questions defined a panel discussion between Dr. Maria Ivanova (FAS, YSE), Director of the Northeastern University School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, former President of Costa Rica, and Philip Osano, Director of the Africa Centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute, during Yale @ Climate Week NYC in September 2024.
Ecological Resilience: an event on balancing people, place, and planet in Africa
October 2025
Against the backdrop of 1-54 London, the first and only international fair dedicated to contemporary African art, in October 2025, the Council on African Studies hosted a program centered around themes of environment and resilient societies. Guests enjoyed a curator-led tour of the exhibit and then presentations by Prof. Mae-Ling Lokko, a renowned Ghanaian designer and artist known for her work with natural building materials in relation to ecological health and social justice, and Joshua Amponsah, a recent alum of the African Studies and a Yale Fox Fellow whose work explores land rights and conservation conflicts in Africa. Cajetan Iheka, Chair of the Council on African Studies and award-winning author of African Eco-Media, then led a discussion with the presenters and the audience before the evening concluded with a reception.