(AGENPARL) – Fri 16 January 2026 * For immediate release *
Leaders must choose shared prosperity over fossil-fuelled growth   
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Panel, urges leaders convening at the World Economic Forum to move beyond narrow economic metrics and reject an outdated model of “fossil-fuelled, extractive growth,” which accelerates ecological breakdown, worsens inequality, and increases geopolitical instability.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 
Read the full letter: ## https://earth4all.life/ * open-letter-to-the-world-economic-forum * / ## (https://earth4all.life/?page_id=15539)
* ENDS *
* Notes to editors  *
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* About Earth4All  *
Earth4All is a vibrant collective of leading economic thinkers, scientists and advocates, convened by  ## The Club of Rome ## (https://www.clubofrome.org/), the BI  ## Norwegian Business School ## (https://www.bi.edu/), the  ## Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research ## (https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/home) and the  ## Stockholm Resilience Centre ## (https://www.stockholmresilience.org/) 
Earth4All builds on the legacies of  ## The Limits to Growth ## (https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/#:~:text=The%20message%20of%20this%20book,long%2C%20even%20with%20advanced%20technology.) and the  ## Planetary Boundaries ## (https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html) frameworks.   ## Earth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity ## (https://www.earth4all.life/book), was published in September 2022 and presents the results of a major two-year research collaboration.  
## http://www.earth4all.life ## (http://www.earth4all.life/) 
* About the Global Commons Alliance  *
The Global Commons Alliance brings together civil society, scientific organizations, business networks, and philanthropic institutions to create a just world on a safe planet. With each member contributing its unique strengths, Alliance members collaborate to ensure greater, more urgent action to protect our only home. Guided by science and facilitated by a small secretariat, the Alliance seeks to shape governance and policy, economics and business practices, and culture and society to achieve systemic impact. ## https://globalcommonsalliance.org/ ## (https://globalcommonsalliance.org/) 
* About the Earth Commission *
The Earth Commission assesses and synthesises the latest science to define the boundaries for a safe and just planet. Convened by Future Earth, the world’s largest network of sustainability scientists, the Commission unites an international panel of natural and social experts to identify critical planetary thresholds – to ensure there is clean air and water, biodiversity, and a stable climate in which all life can thrive. This work informs the development of science-based targets for cities and business, and guides the pivotal transformations needed for a safe and just world.
Learn more, and access publications and briefs, at ## http://www.earthcommission.org. ## (https://www.earthcommission.org/)  
* About the Planetary Guardians *
The Planetary Guardians are a collective of committed leaders who have dedicated their lives to serving people and the planet. They have come together with no other agenda than to do the right thing to secure a safe, just, and healthy future where humanity and the planet flourish together. 
Their mission is to elevate science to make the Planetary Boundaries a measurement and operating framework for the world and to start a movement where everyone, everywhere, joins forces as guardians of our shared home. ## http://www.planetaryguardians.org ## (http://www.planetaryguardians.org/) 
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