There is no doubt that the year 2020 will be remembered as one of the most challenging years in modern history. Hopefully, it will also be remembered as a tipping point, a transformative year to put forward a new economic model. The coronavirus pandemic as well as the climate and biodiversity crisis are not separate problems but just different consequences of the same one: our economic system. A system addicted to fossil resources and to growth at all costs that has failed to value our most important capital, and the basis for human health and wellbeing: Nature. We reflected on that in 2020 in an interdisciplinary publication: Investing in Nature as the true engine of our economy1, which included a foreword by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. The publication is the guiding document of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance established by The Prince of Wales and coordinated by myself. The Alliance has been one of the milestones of the year as it aims to connect knowledge to action beyond the traditional boundaries of EFI. In 2020, we saw how in times of global crisis the world turned to scien1
Available at: https://doi.org/10.36333/k2a02tists for answers. Unfortunately, too often scientists are only approached in a crisis, while probably the greatest value of science is in stimulating the right questions so that we are wise enough to avoid them. This should make us reflect about how science should evolve in the future to ensure collaboration between different disciplines, and the need for dialogues between scientists and society, and policy makers. While challenging, 2020 has shown the potential and opportunities for enhanced dialogue and interaction via digitalization. EFI’s online activities in 2020 (including the first digital Annual Conference, and online ThinkForest events) have demonstrated both global reach and diverse interactions, lowering the threshold for participation.
Digitalization has, however, its downsides too, one of them being a flood of information. At EFI we aim to generate and contextualise scientific knowledge for better informed decision-taking in the context of an increasingly complex world. With the support of all our Network and our motivated staff we will continue this work in 2021.
