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Decision makers, researchers, and civil society at large need to seriously face scientific facts about ecological limits. Current pathways of production and consumption are causing dangerous climatic and environmental change. Equally challenging realities are unfolding in economy and society. Rising populism is undermining democratic institutions, resistance against sustainability transformations is growing, and social cohesion appears to erode. Ambitions in the implementation of sustainability are declining at multiple levels, including the European Green Deal. These dynamics are reinforced by economic crises, which fuel calls for a stringent focus on economic growth and resource exploitation. International cooperation and multilateralism are weakening, while national institutions prioritize security and deregulation.

Sustainability science and policy need to address these challenges. It seems clear that some of the established strategies and narratives for sustainability have lost traction. Many argue that we need new approaches and discourses that build bridges between different interests and realms of society. However, reducing the level of ambition and delaying action would risk essential goals such as global health, food security, and ecological integrity. On the contrary, it is hard to see how we can stay within planetary boundaries without a more fundamental shift in strategies which now mainly rely on efficiency and green growth, but fail to address more fundamental topics such as social justice, sufficiency, and inclusive welfare.

At this conference, we aim to explore how leading European thinkers reflect on these predicaments and on strategies to address them. We will also discuss how actors in government, research, and civil society can continue to work towards more sustainable futures while acknowledging the current challenges.

The conference is organised jointly by three organisations mandated to produce policy advice: the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils Network (EEAC), the Germany Environment Agency (UBA) and the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU).