Emotional and Ecological Literacy for a More Sustainable Society

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations in 2015 (here in after Agenda 2030), marks a global milestone in the commitment to addressing imperative sustainability issues such as ending poverty, overcoming food insecurity, reversing climate change impacts, and reversing inequality and injustice.2 At the core of the Agenda 2030 lies the fundamental acknowledgement that here exists a profound interdependence between our planetary ecosystem and the overall wellbeing of the human population, defined within the comprehensive framework recognised as “planetary health”.3 Yet, despite the unequivocal recognition of planetary health’s pivotal significance within the scientific
community,4 which underscores the imperative for immediate action to safeguard both the planet and human health,5 the successful realisation of sustainability objectives remains elusive. In the words of António Guterres, UN Secretary General (UNSG), “The Doomsday Clock is now 90 seconds to midnight, which means 90 seconds to total global catastrophe. This is the closest the clock has ever stood to humanity’s darkest hour. In truth, the Doomsday Clock is a global alarm clock. We need to wake up – and get to work”.6 And, in the words of Guterres, climate action is “the 21st century’s greatest opportunity to drive forward all the Sustainable Development Goals”7 and address such urgency. The UNSG explicitly anchors this call to climate action to the safeguard of water, “Our ocean is choked by pollution, plastics and chemicals. And vampiric overconsumption is draining the lifeblood of our planet — water. 2023 is a year of reckoning. It must be a year of game-changing climate action”.8 Vivid words that well depict the
urgency to act for the climate. Within this framework and in alignment with the overarching theme
of this book, climate action in the context of ocean sustainability assumes a crucial role in both academic research and educational settings. This places a significant responsibility on scientists and educators to effectively act within their own fields of expertise, by developing knowledge frameworks that incorporate, promote, and facilitate effective responses to sustainability challenges.

source :
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-56772-8