What if solving the climate crisis isn’t just about policies and technologies—but about how we see ourselves in the world? Dr. Karen O’Brien, a world-renowned climate scientist and expert in transformation, challenges us to rethink change itself. She is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo and has written and co-edited numerous books about global environmental change, including A Changing Environment for Human Security and Climate Change Adaptation and Development: Transforming Paradigms and Practices. In 2021 she was co-recipient of the BBVA Foundations Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Climate Change. She is co-chair of the International Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Transformative Change Assessment.
Her work explores how consciousness, collaboration, and collective agency can accelerate the shift toward a thriving planet.
At IEC, Karen will present “Fractals of Change”, a keynote that delves into the hidden patterns shaping transformation at every level—from individual choices to global movements. Drawing on her research in climate change adaptation, complexity science, and integral theory, she reveals how small shifts in awareness and action can ripple outward, influencing entire systems in unexpected ways.
Karen’s approach is deeply hopeful: she believes that every person plays a role in planetary transformation. By understanding the fractal nature of change, we can move beyond fear and disempowerment, stepping into meaningful action that aligns with both personal purpose and global well-being.
Join us at IEC to explore how an integral perspective on change can empower us to co-create a regenerative future—starting from within.
