COVID showed us how ingenuity, speed, and collaboration can save the planet

Jean-Claude Burgelman, Director of the Frontiers Planet Prize

Just when we need to speed up global climate action, we are in danger of slowing down.

The consequences could be devastating.

The latest ‘State of the Global Climate’ report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organization confirms the stark reality: 2024 was the first calendar year to exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, making it the warmest in 175 years.

Even if we achieve the Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming below 2°C, new research shows climate and carbon feedbacks like the thawing of permafrost could accelerate heating way beyond that threshold.

We are already witnessing ‘climate whiplash,’ with cities worldwide experiencing deadly swings between extreme wet and dry weather, threatening water security, disrupting food systems, and accelerating the spread of disease.

The consequences of inaction, or even business as usual, disproportionately affect the most vulnerable communities who contribute the least to global emissions, driving mass displacement, destabilizing economies, and straining critical infrastructure.

Our window of opportunity to act is rapidly closing and we need much more ingenuity, speed, scale, and collaboration to keep it open and deliver the rapid progress the world requires.

We must prioritize the research and application of groundbreaking solutions that can be rolled out quickly and effectively across the world to keep humanity safely within planetary boundaries.

The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic proved we can do it. The world rallied behind its brightest minds with unprecedented speed and scale, prioritizing global resources to develop vaccines.

The COVID response provided us with the template, showcasing how scientific breakthroughs supported by strong political will, robust funding, and cross-sector partnerships can deliver progress at pace. We must mobilize in the same way to safeguard our planet from irreversible damage.

Currently, there is a siloed approach globally to looking at solutions for planetary health and a lack of transdisciplinary research is really holding us back.

We must dismantle the barriers to working together across disciplines and change the culture to create more transparent, impact-oriented funding frameworks, which allow for collaborative action on globally agreed evidence-based solutions.

One major barrier to cross-disciplinary collaboration is the siloed nature of academic research, where funding structures often prioritise single-discipline studies over integrative, systems-based approaches. To overcome this, funding frameworks should incentivise a multi-disciplinary approach, allowing scientists to bring in perspectives from different academic fields, for example linking environmental heterogeneity with impact on local livelihoods and economy.

That also means extending beyond the scientific community to collaborate with affected communities, policy makers, and the key influencers who can stimulate more research and turn this research into action and impact on the ground.

This approach is what drives the Frontiers Planet Prize, a global science competition recognizing scientists for their breakthrough research that accelerates solutions.

Research by Carlos Peres, a previous winner, successfully protected territories from deforestation and overfishing through introducing sustainable-use protected areas (PAs) in the Brazilian Amazon and empowering Indigenous and local communities in natural resource management.

Baojing Gu, another winner from the first edition in 2023, explored how reducing ammonia emissions from fertilizers is a cost-effective way to protect air quality in densely populated urban environments.

Paul Behrens, a first-edition winner, demonstrated that if people in high-income nations adopted more plant-based diets, we could cut emissions by 60% and free up land the size of the EU for nature.

Finally, Petra Holden and Mark New, previous co-winners, have identified how the removal of invasive tree species is an effective nature-based solution, ensuring freshwater security in South Africa.

Now in its third year, the Frontiers Planet Prize will this June award three International Champions, selected from our outstanding National Champions, a prize of $1 million each to advance vital research and deliver technological breakthroughs capable of catalyzing widespread global action.

With the engagement of governments and businesses in supporting groundbreaking research, fostering global collaboration, and scaling innovative solutions, we can navigate the greatest challenge of our time and secure a liveable planet for generations to come.