This report presents a systematic effort to theorize what the authors call “derailment risk,” a vicious cycle in which escalating climate impacts and the disruptive consequences of green transitions undermine climate action. Drawing on twenty global workshops and hundreds of expert contributions, the project mapped how worsening disasters, resource diversion, and political backlash can derail […]
The Global Tipping Points Report 2025 presents a comprehensive assessment of the escalating risks posed by irreversible changes in Earth’s systems due to human-driven climate and ecological pressures. With contributions from over 160 scientists across 87 institutions, the report identifies critical tipping points such as the collapse of coral reefs, thawing permafrost, and destabilization of
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In this four-part documentary series, Laurie Laybourn explores the significant challenges associated with exceeding the 1.5°C global warming threshold. Through interviews with a diverse range of contributors, including climate negotiators, Pacific islanders, scientists, and grassroots activists, the series examines the social, political, and ecological implications of climate overshoot. It situates these perspectives within a broader
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The authors outline a research agenda to deepen understanding of the economic and financial consequences of nature and biodiversity loss, emphasizing that ecosystem degradation and climate change are intertwined through a “Twin-Crises Multiplier.” They introduce a model in which ecosystem services are direct inputs to economic production, and their loss amplifies both environmental and financial
Nature and Biodiversity Loss: A Research Agenda for Financial Economics Read More »
The seventh edition of Global Strategic Trends presents a comprehensive analysis of global conditions projected to 2055. It identifies six interconnected drivers of change: geopolitical competition, demographic shifts, climate and environmental pressures, technological advances, economic transformation, and rising inequality. These forces are accompanied by five major contradictions, such as growing interconnectivity alongside fragmentation and rising
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This chapter of the Handbook on Migration and Human Rights examines the urgency of adopting a holistic vision for human–environmental security in shaping the future of the planet. It highlights how “human security” objectives can be aligned with “human rights” concerns in the design and implementation of responsible government policy aimed at safeguarding planet Earth.
Facing the Polycrisis: Human-Environmental Security for Planet Earth Read More »
This report examines how artificial intelligence is transforming biosafety, biosecurity, biodefense, and global health, while simultaneously introducing new biological risks. Drawing on a systematic review of 169 scientific articles and surveys of life science professionals across Latin America, it finds that AI tools are increasingly applied to epidemiological prediction, protein design, and laboratory automation, yet
This report explores how economic growth has historically been linked to rising pollution and environmental degradation. It argues that new data and technologies now enable more informed policymaking and make it possible to decouple growth from environmental harm. It examines the economic stakes of planetary health, the environmental impacts of two defining twenty-first-century trends and
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In this Cascade Institute Speaker Series episode, Dr. Nate Hagens, presents a compelling framework for understanding our world as a complex, energy-dependent “Superorganism” operating far from equilibrium. He analyzes potential future scenarios that humanity may be heading toward and introduces the idea that small, focused efforts can elevate entire systems to a higher order. This
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This paper introduces a novel modelling framework to evaluate how specific sociopolitical events influence the Earth System and their interaction with Planetary Boundaries. The authors present an interacting matrix model that links sociopolitical dynamics with biophysical thresholds, enabling the exploration of possible future trajectories, including scenarios that may trigger crises and polycrises. By modelling Planetary
