Summary

This session reflected on what has been discussed at this year’s ISAP with young leaders working in the environment and sustainable development field. The session encouraged them to freely envision what the world would be like 50 years in the future. The first speaker learned from the plenary session that only slow progress has been made toward the 1.5°C target and that currently there is an overall lack of participation toward that target. He mentioned the importance of agreeing to and taking action to reduce climate change and improve our wellbeing. The second speaker attended a session on the Regional Circulating and Ecological Sphere (Regional-CES) and stated that he felt the importance of communicating through local communities and citizen participation. The third speaker participated in the session on air pollution and expressed the need for Japan to promote sustainable development by learning through cooperation and building mutually beneficial relationships with developing countries. The fourth speaker commented on the session on the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control, and noted that biodiversity issues are linked to food security and health. She noted that participants had high expectations for the youth movement, but she reiterated the importance of collaboration among all generations. The fifth speaker stated that the meeting had reaffirmed the importance of an integrated approach and that she was inspired by the examples of the Climate Citizen’s Assembly and E-Governance, which incorporate minority and vulnerable persons’ voices into policy.

The moderator stated that current economic and social activities are synchronic, and that it is necessary to deepen diachronic social norms, considering that the problem of interests, resource depletion and environmental pollution will be passed to the next generation as they are. In response, all panelists shared their vision of the future 50 years from now. The fifth speaker presented a vision of a net-zero world in 2050 in the area of food, arguing that the keys to transforming the food system are “healthy and planet-friendly diets,” “food security and nutrition for all,” and “a recycling system that keeps waste off the dinner table.” She then proposed concepts such as the Planetary Health Diet, local production for local consumption, and foodscaping (edible landscapes). The fourth speaker identified strengthening synergies between climate change and biodiversity, making cities and communities livable, and revitalising agriculture, forestry, and fisheries as critical priorities for the future, and explained Nature Positive as the basic premise for these efforts. The third speaker stated that it is important for data-based policies and trends to align and approximate each other, proposing the concept of boomerang consumption (“Boomerumption”), in which products are recycled and returned to our hands. He also referred to diversity other than visible diversity, which is difficult to manifest, and stated that we should respect and discuss with each another out of solidarity so that ideological diversity does not become polarised. The second speaker recommended that society return to how it once was, such as drinking tea from a teapot, as the ecological footprint 50 years ago was the equivalent of one planet, whereas today’s footprint is 1.7. The first speaker looked forward to a world 50 years in the future where individual consciousness and planetary health are synchronised, production and consumption are integrated, self-sustaining circular regions and economic rationality are transcended, and society circulates within a certain physical proximity.

The session concluded with a video visualising the speakers’ diverse imaginations.