24 September 2014: Future Earth, a global research platform on issues of sustainability, has announced its research agenda and a series of fast-track initiatives. At a gathering of scientists, researchers, and public and private decision-makers known as the 2014 Future Earth Forum, the network announced that the three central themes for its work will be: a dynamic plant; global sustainable development; and transformations towards sustainability.

Future Earth was first launched at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) to bring together diverse communities and research in response to global environmental challenges. Future Earth aims to conduct inter-disciplinary research with scientists of all disciplines on issues of global sustainable development.

In August 2014, Future Earth awarded funding for two years to eight projects and programmes, known as Fast-Track Initiatives and Cluster Activities. These initiatives include inter-disciplinary research projects on the subjects of: nitrogen; the Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); urban living; bright spots; biodiversity monitoring and reporting; extreme events; changes in land use; and water governance. Each of these initiatives are seen as areas in need of more integration across disciplines, and are coordinated with the research agenda. Funding is supported by the National Science Foundation.

The inaugural Future Earth Forum took place on 24 September 2014, in New York, US, following the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit, and was organized by the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability. In addition to discussing the network’s research agenda, participants discussed issues of systemic risk across scientific, buisness and policy communities. The Forum was hosted at the State University of New York (SUNY) Global Classroom, and allowed the researchers to discuss the design of research communities, how to generate solutions-oriented studies, and the formation of new multi-stakeholder partnerships and research networks to better respond to the needs of society. The Forum intends to be an annual event to continually foster dialogue and bring new stakeholders to the table. [Future Earth Forum Press Release] [UNESCO Forum Press Release] [Future Earth History] [Future Earth Funding Initiatives Press Release]