Graphic: James Provost, two faces of the Roman God Janus

By Hannibal Rhoades, Gaia Foundation

Picture the scene: Two groups of doctors, one large, one small, gather in distinct but interlocking rooms, around the inescapable body of an ailing patient; Earth, our only home. At this stage their diagnosis appears clear and unified. They agree that the planet is suffering from anthropogenic climate change caused by dangerously excessive emissions of greenhouse gases into our shared atmosphere; that we must keep global warming to below 2C above pre-industrial levels; that we are running out of time.

So, why are they sat in different rooms? And why is the radical, unified action required not forthcoming? The answer lies in the differing solutions, or prescriptions, these two groups are offering up to prevent, mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

These solutions are radically opposed and based, fundamentally, on differing accounts of reality.