No-Extinction Manifesto
The future is not something that happens. It's something we build with our decisions.
We live on a single planet
Human societies depend on natural systems that have limits. The economy and technology can evolve, but no society can prosper for long by destroying the conditions that make life possible.
The great problems are connected
Climate, biodiversity, water, food, inequality, migration, conflict, nuclear risk and new technologies are not separate problems. They interact and can amplify one another. Addressing them requires a systemic view.
Understanding comes before deciding
Decisions about the future must be based on the best available knowledge, on the exchange of different ideas, and on the willingness to correct our own beliefs when the facts require it.
Technology must remain at the service of humanity
Scientific and technological progress can help us tackle enormous problems. But the more powerful our tools become, the greater our capacity to understand, govern and limit their risks must be.
No one should be left behind
A sustainable transition must also be fair. The costs of change cannot fall mainly on those with the fewest resources, while the benefits accrue elsewhere.
Future generations must be taken into account
The people who will live tomorrow have no say in today's decisions, yet they will bear the consequences. Their interests must be part of today's political, economic and technological choices.
Global problems require global capacities
When a problem crosses national borders, the sum of individual states' decisions alone may not be enough. Humanity must develop shared tools capable of deciding and acting on truly global issues.
Global power must also have limits
Any shared decision-making capacity must have a clearly defined mandate, well-defined competences, transparency, independent oversight and the possibility of challenge. No power should become uncontrollable.
Change cannot be imposed by a few
A transformation of this scale can only last if millions of people understand it, discuss it and choose to support it. No one changes the world alone.
Knowing is not enough
We already know many of the solutions. The challenge is turning knowledge and possibility into decisions and actions that are fast and coordinated enough.
We don't know if we will manage to change the world. We know it's worth trying to change its direction.
UNDERSTAND. DECIDE. ACT.