Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is an international think tank established in April 1968, founded by a group of thirty-six prominent scientists, businessmen, and statesmen in Rome. It focuses on the complex interrelationships of global issues, known as the "world problematique," which encompasses environmental degradation, poverty, overpopulation, militarism, ineffective governmental institutions, and a loss of human values. The organization's notable influence can be traced back to its sponsorship of the influential 1972 report, *The Limits to Growth*, which projected potential global collapse by 2100 if current trends continued. This report sparked significant debate and increased interest in global modeling and environmental issues. Over the years, the Club of Rome has published numerous reports on a wide range of topics, including environmental themes such as ocean governance and resource efficiency, and continues to advocate for solutions to the challenges facing humanity. In 2022, it released a follow-up to *The Limits to Growth*, titled *Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity*, addressing these issues in a contemporary context and offering guidance on potential resolutions. The organization operates through funding from government agencies, academic institutions, and foundations, and relies on the contributions of its diverse membership from over fifty countries.
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Club of Rome
IDENTIFICATION: International think tank devoted to the study of the complex interrelationships of global problems
DATE: Established in April, 1968
The Club of Rome’s influence in solving environmental problems surpasses the organization’s low profile. From sponsoring the best-selling Limits to Growth study in 1972 to promoting the benefits of energy efficiency, the Club of Rome has worked steadfastly for the betterment of humankind.
In April, 1968, thirty-six prominent European scientists, businessmen, and statesmen gathered at the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome and formed the Club of Rome. Since its founding, the organization has focused on the world problematique, which is characterized by the complex interrelationships of global problems: environmental degradation, poverty, overpopulation, militarism, ineffective governmental institutions, and a global loss of human values. The Club of Rome commissions studies on important aspects of the world problematique, and the resulting reports become springboards for behind-the-scenes meetings with decision makers and for the initiation of projects recommended in the reports. Funding for Club of Rome reports and activities comes through arrangements with government agencies, academic research centers, and foundations.
By all accounts, Aurelio Peccei has been the most influential member of the Club of Rome. From the organization’s founding in 1968 until his death in 1984, Peccei was instrumental in bringing people together, developing ideas into projects, finding funding, and providing logistic support for projects. In addition to Peccei’s personal influence, the success of the club has relied on the contributions of its one hundred members from more than fifty countries. Many of the reports to the Club of Rome have been made possible by or have been directly authored by members.
The first report to the Club of Rome is also its best known. Club members obtained funding from the Volkswagen Foundation to commission a computer modeling team to forecast the future global system. The researchers’ results were published in 1972 in The Limits to Growth, by Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. This alarming report predicted that the human race would collapse by the year 2100 if current trends continued. The book became an international sensation, in large part through the publicity efforts of Peccei. Despite widespread criticism of the team’s methodology and results, The Limits to Growth succeeded in sparking debate about the fate of humankind. It also generated greater interest in global modeling, including several follow-up studies commissioned by the club.
In 2022, the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of The Limits to Growth, members of the Club of Rome published a follow-up, Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity. The book looked at the issues brought up in 1972 and presented them in a modern context, warning that the problems outlined in the first book are on the verge of becoming reality in the 2020s. Earth for All also offered a guide on how to fix the problems facing humanity.
More than forty other reports to the Club of Rome have been published, with topics ranging from education to microelectronics. Reports with specifically environmental themes include The Oceanic Circle: Governing the Seas as a Global Resource (1998), by Elisabeth Mann-Borgese; Factor Four: Doubling Wealth—Halving Resource Use (1997), by Ernst von Weizsäcker, Amory B. Lovins, and Hunter L. Lovins; The Future of the Oceans (1986), by Elisabeth Mann-Borgese; Energy: The Countdown (1978), by Thierry de Montbrial; and Beyond the Age of Waste (1978), by Dennis Gabor and Umberto Colombo. Although these reports have not achieved the visibility of The Limits to Growth, the club has used them as platforms for quiet environmental protection campaigns. In 2004, Meadows, Randers, and Meadows published a follow-up to their first report titled Limits to Growth: The Thirty-Year Update.
Bibliography
Dahl, Arthur Lyon. "Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity." International Environment Forum, 5 Dec. 2022, iefworld.org/node/1343. Accessed 16 July 2024.
Dixson-Decleve, Sandrine. Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity. New Society Publishers, 2022.
Kula, E. History of Environmental Economic Thought. 1998. Reprint. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Meadows, Donella H., Jørgen Randers, and Dennis L. Meadows. Limits to Growth: The Thirty-Year Update. White River Junction, Vt.: Chelsea Green, 2004.