Announcements
Announcements
“The sustainability movement is 50. Why are world leaders ignoring it?” asks Nature’s editorial on 1 June 2022, referring to the insufficient actions taken to address the climate- and environment crises since 1972. The editorial also highlights the open letter from scientists, engineers and scholars co-convened by the International Science Council, Stockholm Environment Institute and Future Earth ahead of Stockholm+50.
Photo: Lukasz Szmigie / Unsplashl.
In March 1972, a team of researchers and policymakers sounded another alarm in The Limits to Growth, one of the first reports to forecast catastrophic consequences if humans kept exploiting Earth’s limited supply of natural resources. The conference in Stockholm followed a few months later, steered to success by its secretary-general, Canadian industrialist Maurice Strong.
Fifty years after that momentous conference, the world remains in crisis. With impending climate and biodiversity crises, the warnings issued by visionaries now hit even closer.
Stockholm+50 promises “clear and concrete recommendations and messages for action at all levels”. More than 90 ministers are expected to attend, but only 10 heads of government. That’s a missed opportunity for high-level action. World leaders are needed because their presence signals that sustainability remains at the top of their agendas.
Ahead of the 1972 conference, 2200 environmental scientists signed a letter – called the Menton Message – to then-UN secretary-general U Thant. The signatories had a sense that the world was moving towards multiple crises.
Researchers can now join a successor to the Menton Message that has been organized by the International Science Council, the global science network Future Earth and the Stockholm Environment Institute. In an open letter addressed to world citizens, they call for change.
Read Nature‘s editorial on 1 June 2022 here.
The letter has been signed by SEI Executive Director Måns Nilsson in his individual capacity as a scientist and as member of the Expert Writing Group for the letter.
Media advisory / A letter signed by SEI Executive Director Måns Nilsson to fellow citizens of Earth ahead of Stockholm+50 was published in Nature.
SEI report / Ahead of the Stockholm+50 UN international meeting, a landmark report synthesizes thinking on how to build a sustainable planet.
Project / The independent report for the Stockholm+50 meeting proposes policy actions to overcome the barriers that stand in the way of sustainable, equitable development
SEI report / Ahead of the Stockholm+50 UN international meeting, a landmark report synthesizes thinking on how to build a sustainable planet.
Past event / Take part in the launch of this report to discuss the keys we have available to unlock change and how to improve the conditions for delivering a better future.
SEI report / An independent report ahead of the Stockholm+50 international meeting captures the perspectives of youth for actions now for a better future.
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