As political and business leaders gather at Davos, a powerful coalition of over 20 leading economists, businesspeople and scientists have signed a call for attendees to show “serious leadership” to safeguard humanity from climate and ecological collapse and redefine prosperity for the 21st century.
The open letter, whose signatories include Johan Rockström, Co-chair, Earth Commission, Director, Potsdam Institute Climate Impact Research and Izabella Teixeira, former Brazilian Minister of the Environment, Co-Chair of the UN’s International Resource Panel, urges leaders convening at the World Economic Forum to move beyond narrow economic metrics and reject an outdated model of “fossil-fuelled, extractive growth,” which accelerates ecological breakdown, worsens inequality, and increases geopolitical instability.
Instead, the signatories endorse a prosperity agenda rooted in safeguarding climate and nature, prioritising human wellbeing and resilience, and aligning economic activity with Earth’s “safe and just space.” The ability of global decision-makers to achieve this must become “the defining test of serious leadership” in an era marked by the climate emergency and the erosion of hard-won progress.
Carlos Nobre, co-chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon and a signatory of the letter said: “We are dangerously close to ecological tipping points that could undermine the stability of climate systems worldwide. This letter is an urgent call for leaders in Davos to recognise that prosperity cannot be built on ecosystem collapse – it must be grounded in planetary stewardship and a safe and just operating space for humanity.”
The letter argues that the costs of maintaining the current economic trajectory are already substantial – generating multi-trillion-dollar losses while failing to protect the wellbeing of the majority, and concentrating wealth at the top as ecosystems and public services are strained, deepening environmental and social tensions.
At the same time, the signatories point to clear and growing evidence that an economy aligned with planetary boundaries delivers better outcomes including job creation from renewables, reduced vulnerability to climate and economic shocks, greater resilience and competitiveness and a more just and equitable world.
Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, Executive Chair, Earth4All, said: “Business cannot succeed in societies that fail, and economies cannot thrive on a planet that is breaking down. Our message is clear: the era of fossil-fuelled, extractive growth is over. The real test of leadership today is whether we can turn wealth into human wellbeing, and deliver shared prosperity within planetary boundaries.”
Signatories include:
Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, Executive Chair, Earth4All
Margarita Astrálaga, Chair of the Advisory Board for the Global Commons Alliance
Wendy Broadgate, Executive Director, Earth Commission and Global Hub Director, Sweden, Future Earth
Jean Oelwang, Founding CEO, Planetary Guardians and Virgin Unite
Johan Rockström, Co-chair, Earth Commission, Director, Potsdam Institute Climate Impact Research
Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Carlos Nobre, Senior Scientist at the University of São Paulo, Co-Chair of the Science Panel for the Amazon
Izabella Teixeira, former Brazilian Minister of the Environment, Co-Chair of the UN’s International Resource Panel
Naoko Ishii, Director Centre for Global Commons, University of Tokyo and former Deputy Vice Minister of Finance Japan
Catherine McKenna, Founder and CEO of Climate and Nature Solutions and former Canadian Minister of Environment
Hiro Mizuno, Special Advisor to the CEO of MSCI, Inc., Leader, B-Team and former UN Special Envoy on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments, Planetary Guardian