by Gérald Santucci
President, European Education New Society Association (ENSA)

Few scientists object today that the impacts of human actions on our planet are now so large that a new phase of Earth’s history is beginning. The old forces of nature that transformed Earth many millions of years ago, including meteorites and mega-volcanoes are joined by another: us. We have entered a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene, based on humanity’s influence on Earth, even if in 2024 the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
rejected the term Anthropocene as a formal unit of the geologic timescale.

Several studies suggest that Earth is well on the way to its sixth mass extinction, if not in a mass extinction already1. Compared to the previous mass extinctions, the rate of the current one is being pushed ever higher by human activity. The good news is that, in principle, human activity can also reverse such a dismal trend, although it will require momentous efforts on many fronts.

Well thought policy changes can increase conservation efforts, change our patterns of land use, reduce our production of greenhouse gases to slow climate change, support prevention and control of future infectious diseases, and implement a proper ethics and governance for Artificial Intelligence.

Robert Kennedy said at the University of Capetown, South Africa, in 1966: “Like it or not, we live in interesting times. They are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also the most creative of any time in the history of mankind. And everyone here will ultimately be judged – will ultimately judge himself – on the effort he has contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped that effort.”

I will use this quote to highlight the concept of a Nature-Positive Economy (NPE). NPE means that the net result of all economic activities combined leads to an absolute increase in nature, to the point of full recovery, i.e. nature recovers so that thriving ecosystems continue to support future generations.

Several concepts have been conjured up over the last few years to provide
pathways to an NPE, the most important being the following: Net-Zero Economy, Bioeconomy, Circular Economy, Green Economy. These concepts should not be considered in opposition nor should any sort of hierarchy be artificially established between them. Actually, they should be seen as complementing and enriching each other through the creation of synergy made possible
through the co-creation and collaboration of international, multidisciplinary teams.

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