The Climate Clock – Theorizing the 1.5°C target and its representations as cultural objects

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Abstract

From a narrow scientific or policy perspective, the 1.5°c target has had a short life and quick death: Adopted in 2015 through the Paris Agreement, the long term warming limit has been transgressed already in 2025. Yet, the target has also developed a social life with its very own dynamics. Regarding the meanings of climate change as a concept, the target has re-signified when and where climate change is occurring and continues to reverberate across discursive spheres like activism and climate litigation. This paper will introduce the conceptualization of the 1.5°C target as a cultural object and focus in on one of its activist representations: the Climate Clock. The cases of the target and the clock – a running countdown realized in iconic, monumental as well as small-scale formats – will further the theorization of numerical figures as culturally resonant and powerful forms that carry emotional and meaning-laden messages.

Author

• Olivia Steiert, New School For Social Research