Few things illustrate the absurdity of our times better than climate change. While experts warn of catastrophe, others seek business opportunities beneath the melting ice in the Arctic. Building on a Central European perspective, this book traces the region’s journey from industrialization to EU integration, offering insights into both global and local climate challenges. It critically examines the intersection of geopolitics, capitalism, and environmental policy, exposing contradictions such as the pursuit of growth despite ecological limits and the ongoing tension between public and private interests. A central, perhaps idealistic, question runs throughout: Is it possible—and at what cost—to move beyond a system based on competition, overproduction, and overconsumption toward one rooted in sustainability? Can the Central European experience help us better understand the challenges ahead and develop a framework that merges the achievements of the European welfare state with the principles of an eco-state?