We are living through a historic moment marked by the acceleration of the global climate crisis. The sustained rise in temperatures, the loss of biodiversity, the transformation of ecosystems and the growing frequency of extreme weather events have highlighted the urgent need to rethink our ways of producing, circulating and consuming. Today, virtually no sector of social and economic life remains untouched by this discussion: from energy and food to mobility, technology and the cultural industries, all face the challenge of imagining how to inhabit the world.
Within this context, the book continues to occupy a fundamental place as a cultural object. Far from disappearing in the face of the expansion of the digital, the publishing ecosystem has transformed and diversified, articulating print and digital practices that remain central to education, research and the circulation of ideas. However, this persistence also entails responsibilities: paper production, international supply chains, printing systems, digital storage and the technological infrastructures sustaining the contemporary circulation of knowledge have environmental impacts that require critical thought.
Given this panorama, it is necessary to promote greater awareness of the relationships between climate change and the publishing ecosystem. Beyond merely pointing out the sector’s environmental impacts, the discussion involves asking about possibilities for transformation: How can we imagine more sustainable publishing models? What role can local printing, the circular economy of the book, or low-impact digital technologies play? How can we build more responsible production and distribution chains without compromising access to knowledge and cultural diversity? These questions invite us to recognize that the future of the book is also part of the global conversation on sustainability and coexistence on a collapsing planet.
The symposium Climate Change and Transformations of the Publishing Ecosystem in Latin America emerges precisely as a space to open this conversation from an interdisciplinary and regional perspective. Bringing together researchers, editors, printers, cultural managers, technology experts and institutional actors, the gathering seeks to foster a collective dialogue on the challenges and opportunities facing the publishing sector amid the contemporary climate crisis. Rather than offering definitive answers, the symposium aims to establish itself as a place for reflection, exchange and the joint construction of ideas that allow us to imagine possible futures for the book and culture in Latin America.
