Russia’s war against Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalating climate issues and biodiversity losses — we live in a world of interconnected crises: a polycrisis.
As Duke students, we live in a bubble that sometimes makes this seem like an abstract concept. But it isn’t: it impacts where we study, conduct research and build our futures. Climate change isn't a distant issue when hurricanes devastate communities in North Carolina. COVID-19 disrupted the academic learning and mental health of millions of students. Economic instability isn't theoretical when inflation directly affects tuition and job opportunities. Additionally, as privileged and educated individuals, we have an ethical responsibility to recognize and actively address these injustices.
Yet, many of us still approach crises as temporary hurdles rather than systemic challenges requiring long-term solutions. By recognizing the interconnected nature of these problems, we can begin developing solutions that extend beyond quick fixes.
How today’s crises interconnect
To understand this entanglement, we can examine the COVID-19 pandemic. Global research efforts, including contributions from Duke, have identified that the SARS-CoV-2 virus likely originated in bats. Like all species, bats require specific environmental conditions in an area for it to be a suitable habitat. Climate change has altered these conditions, pushing species closer to human populations and increasing the likelihood of virus transmission. While researchers debate direct causal links between climate change and COVID-19, climate change undoubtedly heightens the risk of disease outbreaks.
This outbreak then developed into a global pandemic, and its effects escalated into multiple crises. The epidemiological response to this emergency caused a global economic crisis. Some research suggests that in addition, it caused a global mental health crisis, with millions suffering from the stress of isolation, uncertainty and financial hardship.
This pattern extends beyond the pandemic. Experts at the World Economic Forum have warned that natural resource shortages, climate change and geopolitical instability are converging into a polycrisis likely to worsen by 2030. These crises would be challenging on their own, but each one amplifies the others.
Why is this happening now?
One reason is the unprecedented level of global interconnectedness. In the 14th century, the Black Death devastated Europe, yet regions such as South America remained largely unaffected until colonizers brought the disease centuries later. Limited global trade and travel previously contained crises geographically. Today, however, events can spread rapidly around the world. For instance, the 2021 blockage of the Suez Canal disrupted global supply chains. In Berlin, I couldn’t buy bicycle parts due to a ship stranded on another continent. Similarly, a widespread outage affecting Windows devices resulted in at least $10 billion in financial damages. While globalization and standardization have brought undeniable benefits, they have also coupled global risks in unprecedented ways.
A second factor is the scale of current human resource consumption and pollution. For example, since 1950, humanity has consumed more than half of all the energy ever produced in history. That means we've used more energy in the last 75 years than in the previous 200,000 years combined. This is a general pattern called “Great Acceleration”. Such rapid consumption is destabilizing Earth's critical systems, exacerbating climate change and biodiversity loss, and reducing Earth's resilience to crises.
Solutions for a polycrisis world
Dealing with a polycrisis requires more than acknowledging its existence; it requires a fundamental shift in how we think about and respond to crises. Some may dismiss the term as a mere buzzword, claiming that it's simply a new way of saying “a lot of bad things are happening at the same time.” But this perspective misses the point. Dismissing the polycrisis is like describing soccer as “just people kicking a ball into a white square.” You don't win a soccer game that way. In the same way, we need to understand how crises interact to develop strategies to address them.
First, we must recognize that this is not going to go away. According to the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if current trends continue, competition for essential resources such as water and food will lead to declining living standards worldwide, even in developed countries. Accepting this reality can help us build the resilience we need for the decades ahead. Duke has a responsibility as an educational institution to help students meet these challenges. Its goal for every student to become climate literate is a good start.
Secondly, we need a clearer understanding of what is happening. Researchers often study isolated aspects of crises without fully grasping their broader interconnections. Economists might recognize that climate change exacerbates inequality but overlook how it fuels political extremism. Climate scientists understand ecological impacts but less so their socioeconomic consequences. Organizations like the Cascade Institute advocate for systematic global research on these interconnections, akin to IPCC efforts on climate change. Especially in times when some political groups deny scientific evidence, universities like Duke should leverage resources to foster interdisciplinary research.
Finally, addressing the polycrisis requires substantial human and financial investment in systemic solutions. It's much “cheaper” psychologically and financially for governments to write checks to address immediate symptoms, such as cost-of-living crises than to invest in systemic infrastructure improvements. While immediate aid is often critical, it doesn't address the underlying problems. Long-term solutions require investment in science, infrastructure, renewable energy, education and social reform. Although expensive up front, the cost of a crisis — both socially and financially — is far greater.
Duke is home to some of the brightest minds in policy, environmental science, public health and STEM. We have the resources and platforms to be part of the solution, but it requires moving beyond passive awareness to active engagement.
The question isn’t whether these crises will shape our future — it’s whether we’ll step up to shape our response.
Jakob Hagedorn is a visiting international student from Berlin, Germany.
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