The Planet 2050 - Alternative paths to a desirable future in a changing world

Top Scientific Meeting in Lund/Malmö, Sweden. October 27-31

What could the world look like in the year 2050? Which are the options we have, if we want a hospitable Planet Earth? Humanity is facing many long-term challenges such as global warming, allocation of resources and the preservation of biological diversity. How will our complex social and economic systems interact with a likewise complex planetary system, now in rapid change?

Close to fifty of the world’s leading scientists will come to Lund and Malmö between October 27-31 for an internal workshop named “The Planet in 2050″. The meeting is multidisciplinary with leading and innovative scientists from different fields of study such as natural scientists, social scientists, historians and paleoclimatologists, who will all contribute on the basis of their field of expertise.

During their stay in Lund this “brains trust” will aim at describing desirable futures for Earth in the year 2050 and explore pathways to move from the present situation toward those futures. The result will be published in a book with the title “The Planet in 2050 - the Lund Discourse of the Future”.

The Planet in 2050 is an initiative taken by some of the key people within the global research network ESSP*. The head of ESSP, the International Council for Science (ICSU), is the collaborative organization for the world’s science academies. The ESSP network is the largest and most prominent research network for global environmental changes.

*ESSP is the acronym for Earth System Science Partnership. It is a vast international network of research centres, networks and programs under the International Council for Science (ICSU), the collaborative organization for the world’s science academies. The ESSP synthesise research efforts on the condition of the world, with a special focus on environment and sustainable development. ESSP is edified by the following sub-organizations: International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), DIVERSITAS, World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP).