Summary of Future Earth and the suite of Knowledge Action Networks

1. research for global sustainability
Name
Title
NASA

2. What is Future Earth?
INRA/C. Maitre
Erik Pihl
Erik Pihl
NASA

3. What is Future Earth?
Building an
international research
community for global
sustainability

4. What is Future Earth?
Built on 30 years
of international
research

5. What is Future Earth?
Supporting research
on the planet’s most
pressing challenges

6. What is Future Earth?
Working together
with partners in
policy, business, civil
society & more

7. is a research platform
for the Anthropocene…

8. 1. Unite around a
common research
agenda for global
sustainability
science
2. Engage societies
in new ways
3. Encourage,
catalyse and
synthesise high
quality research
to support
transformation
CHALLENGES

9. “Research now demonstrates that the
continued functioning of the Earth system as
it has supported the well-being of the
human civilizations in recent centuries is at
risk.”
--State of the Planet Declaration (2012)

11. Knowledge-Action Networks
Cities
Health
Oceans
Water-Energy-
Food Nexus
SDGs
Natural assets
Transformations
Finance &
Economics
Decarbonisation

12. • Challenge: To inform the
management of natural assets to
preserve human wellbeing and
biodiversity
• Status: Contributed to the 4th
Plenary Session of IPBES in
February
• Targets: Will launch a broad
consultation by the end of 2016 to
engage diverse communities of
researchers and stakeholders
Natural Assets

13. Oceans
• Challenge: To address the most
pressing challenges to ocean
sustainability through solutions-
oriented research
• Status: Developing a funding
strategy; will hold co-scoping
workshops in summer 2016
• Targets: Will assist the Belmont
Forum in designing a Collaborative
Research Action (CRA) on ocean
sustainability

14. Transformations
• Challenge: To understand and
inform how societies can make
transitions toward sustainability
• Status: Working in tandem with the
ISSC Transformations project suite
launched in January 2016;
submitted global call for expression
of interest
• Goals: Will partner on a major
conference on transformations in
Dundee, UK, in 2017

15. Water-Energy-Food
• Challenge: To explore the
interactions between water, energy
and food and how these
relationships are shaped by
environmental and social changes
• Status: Formed initial development
team including partners inside and
out of Future Earth
• Targets: Will complete the scoping
process for initial activities in mid-
2017

16. Finance & Economics
• Challenge: To support strategies for
linking economic prosperity with
social justice and a healthy planet
• Status: Organized stakeholder
forum at Our Common Future
Conference; confirming
partnership with UNEP Inquiry for
a Sustainable Financial System
• Targets: Will hold scoping webinars
in early 2017

17. Health
• Challenge: To promote research for
a better understand of the
relationships between changing
environments and human health
• Status: Formed initial development
team; conducting formal and
informal consultations with health
community and other
• Targets: Will hold Bellagio scoping
workshop with funding from
Rockefeller Foundation in mid-2016

18. Cities
• Challenge: To contribute to the
transition toward sustainable
urban futures where cities are
more livable, equitable and
resilient through solutions-oriented
research
• Status: Producing a white paper to
engage with the Habitat III process
• Targets: Will release a book from
the Urban Fast Track Initiative to
coincide with Habitat III

19. Sustainable Development Goals
• Challenge: To promote high-quality
scientific research as a tool and
approach for achieving the SDGs
• Status: Co-organized two
workshops, Measuring SDGs in 2015
and Foresighting SDGs in 2016
• Targets: Will establish an organizing
committee for a 2017 conference on
“SDGs in the Anthropocene” in
partnership with GEO and support
from IGBP funds

20. WHY JOIN US?
• Part of an international community
committed to transformation and a coordinated
research agenda
• International conferences to meet and
share ideas (physical and virtual)
• Intellectual frameworks for co-design
solutions-based research
• Route to engage with international
policy processes
• International support for media,
communications, capacity building,
young scientist career development

21. GET CONNECTED
futureearth.org facebook.com/
futureearth.org
@FutureEarth

23. Groundbreaking fora
2015 20212018 2024
International
Regional
National
Physical and/or virtual

24. Our common future conference 7-10 July
Ségolène Royal, Minister for Ecology, Sustainability and Energy, France, opens the conference
Co-sponsored by Future Earth, ICSU, UNESCO
50% of sessions solutions focussed
Contributing to COP21
Outcome statement
2000participants
100 journalists

25. • By building global
communities of practice
around key themes in
sustainability
• By promoting research that
informs solutions to real
problems around the world
• By bringing together
researchers, policy experts,
businesses, leaders in civil
society and more
How can we address these challenges?

26. • Global in scope but
designed to inspire
transformations at the
local level
• Responsive to the needs
of societies around the
world
• Co-designed and co-
produced with the
people who will use the
results of our research
Our networks are…