Ecological Transition
Towards a sustainable future
The ecological transition is the process of innovation aimed at achieving the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda goals—for a sustainable future and a more harmonious, balanced relationship between human societies and the environment. In essence, it entails a cultural shift that, like the 2030 Agenda itself, revolves around several key concepts: People, Prosperity, Peace, Participation, and Planet.
The transformation required is cultural in scope and touches virtually every field—society, science, technology, and ethics. It calls for an integrated approach and the creation of a new development model based on a circular, low-carbon economy, resilient to climate change, biodiversity loss, and other global changes—a fair and just form of development that respects the planet’s resource limits.
Audience legend
Teachers / Educators
Upper-secondary students
Primary students / Lower-secondary students
Curious by nature
The Pillars of Sustainability
Sustainable development, as defined by the Brundtland Report (1987), is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Since then, it has become increasingly clear that environmental sustainability is achievable only if we heed scientific evidence, understand the planet’s resource limits, and ensure that everyone—especially young people—has a voice in shaping the future.
The pillars of the ecological transition are the energy transition, the food transition, and the circular economy. Cutting across all three are biodiversity conservation and the safeguarding of the ecological processes that underpin the planet’s functioning.
Resulting actions include:
Shifting from a linear to a circular economy, with waste-free production processes that treat waste as a resource.
Expanding renewable energy sources that do not pollute and are inexhaustible.
Driving digital innovation.
Advancing electric mobility and new transport infrastructure to cut pollution.
Improving energy efficiency to prevent waste.
Protecting land and natural resources—especially water, soil, air, and biodiversity.
Scaling agroecological models for sustainable food production.
Ensuring greater youth involvement—the leaders of tomorrow—who have inherited the problems created by human activities yet are often excluded from decision-making.
We thank Valerio Rossi Albertini and Angelo Consoli for their video contributions.
Only One
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Our planet is the only one known to have a liquid-water ocean capable of mitigating the effects of global warming—and thus safeguarding the health of all living beings.
Green Hydrogen
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