Presentations by Anne Ryan and John Jopling at the Alternatives for Transformation conference, National University of Maynooth, Iontas Building, March 9th. Anne Ryan will be chairing a session entitled ‘the commons and climate change’ from 11:30-13:00, during which John Jopling will also make his presentation.
The natural commons consists of the resources provided by nature such as air, water, oil, gas and
the atmosphere with its capacity to absorb a certain amount of carbon and other greenhouse
gasses. The human-created commons arises from public investment and community activities.
Everybody is entitled to benefit from the use of the commons, natural or constructed. We need
shared management of the commons that benefits all right-holders (the commoners).
The presentation will briefly examine basic income, land value taxes and carbon quotas (cap and
share) as means of managing the commons.
The presenter lays no claim to expertise on the matter of the commons and commons management.
The aim is to start a productive conversation about the matter. It is hoped that collaboration among
participants will generate greater knowledge and public awareness of commons issues.
Bio
Anne B Ryan is an adult educator, a member of Basic Income Ireland, a trustee of Feasta and a member of Cultivate Celbridge, a resilience and mutual help network in her home town. Her most recent book is Enough is Plenty: Public and Private Policies for the 21st Century (O Books, 2009). She is employed as
a lecturer in the Department of Adult and Community Education at NUI Maynooth.
