RIKEN RD2

The world is in crisis. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the world was not on track to limit global warming in line with the Paris Agreement and to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Now, four years into these shocks the world has moved even further away from these goals. Global greenhouse gas emissions have rebounded to above 2019 levels, making a temporary overshoot of 1.5°C inevitable and putting the feasibility of limiting warming to 1.5°C by 2100 at risk. The shocks depleted public finances and international trust, making it even harder to muster global cooperation and financial resources that are so urgently needed to move toward a transformation pathway staying within planetary boundaries and managing the global commons sustainably. Still, in each crisis lies opportunity. The case for the necessity of sustainable development and limiting global warming remains compelling, and with it the need for collective action and the ability to muster a large effort to transform economies worldwide. If there is a common cause to be found to transcend the current shocks and fragmentation, this is it. To be able to rise to the challenge, societies and policy makers need strong and compelling scientific policy advice informing the key questions: Where do we stand and where do we need to go? How do we transform to get there? What do we risk if we do not transform, and what are the benefits of transformation?