On July 4th, it took place in el Círculo A meeting between Troy Vettese, an environmental historian specializing in environmental economics, animal studies, and energy history, and Alberto Garzón, Minister of Consumer Affairs and Federal Coordinator of United Left, following the presentation in Spain of Socialism of half the planet (Raise Fire). Under the title Planning the ecological utopiaThis talk brought to the table topics such as the need for ecosocialist planning, the large-scale renaturalization of large portions of the territory, the transition to a diet based on plant-based products, and utopian thinking.

What solutions can socialism propose to address biodiversity loss and the ecosocial crisis? How much land, including native habitats and protected areas, and how much ocean do we need to preserve to halt mass extinction, sequester carbon, and prevent zoonotic spillover? Where will we obtain energy, and what should our energy quotas be?

This dialogue aimed to challenge the capitalist system itself, seeking the real solutions that a growing number of voices are calling for. This involves not only large-scale, concrete, and practical political actions, but also individual changes in how we get around or consume energy and food. Starting with questions like these, participants imagined how to grow our food, how to plan our cities, and how to renaturalize spaces to improve environmental quality. For example, regarding the latter, we already have some examples in Barcelona, ​​such as the... "Superapples" or  bioclimatic urban plan of Pariswhich will be implemented soon.

Alberto Garzón has participated on other occasions in el Círculo to talk about environmentalism. This season, we opened the series with him and other voices within the environmental movement. Wednesdays at the Grand Continent and el Círculo de Bellas Artes, in which he participated in the panel Have we entered the green war?