The challenges we face today—climate change, ecological degradation, and social inequality—demand a collective response. At the heart of this response is the need for all of us to become change agents, individuals who recognize the interconnectedness of our planet and take meaningful action to drive transformation. Whether through education, collaboration, or innovation, being a change agent means committing to a worldview that prioritizes the long-term health of our planet and all its inhabitants. Together, we can shape a sustainable future, but it starts with each of us stepping into this role.
What can I do?
Developing a one planet worldview can be something an individual can do and can help others do as well. If you are a faculty member, for example, any course that you teach that transcends disciplines can help you and your students begin to develop a worldview that sees the planet as one integrated system and to help us thrive into the future. Sustainability is an example of a transdisciplinary subject matter. Sustainability, or the lack of it, ripples through our other systems. Our health is impacted by climate change, our economic systems are impacted by climate change, our migration patterns are affected, our social systems, politics, and communities are influenced by climate change. To teach a course on sustainability and climate requires a more integrated approach that transcends silos of traditional disciplines. This integrated, whole systems approach is an example of building a one planet worldview. We need this worldview to help us make decisions, lead our organizations, and develop curriculum that helps others see the whole planet instead of a slice or part of the system. The world is an interdependent system, using only a part of the system to make decisions, like short-term profit, will result in decisions that have a negative impact on future generations and the livability of the planet. Now is the time to act. You can choose to develop and strengthen your individual worldview into one that sees the planet and all the living beings on this planet as significant long-term stakeholders. When we count these stakeholders and add a longer time horizon, we make decisions and practice a one planet worldview.
What can we do?
When we create platforms and gatherings that bring people together into relationships with people from around the world, we put ourselves in situations where we strengthen our one planet’s worldview by being in relationship with others. The world is filled with networks that represent unique contexts and sit in different places in the world. connecting with others across the world helps us see the world from different perspectives, resulting in a more integrated one planet worldview. OPEN and their partnership with Pelumbra is offering One Planet Roundtables and One Planet Leadership programs to bring people from around the world that deeply care about climate change to share, gain knowledge, and disseminate innovations with each other.
What can we do together?
The field of climate change and our responses to it continue to change. Together we can work together to generate new knowledge and change strategies together that can be applied to our work locally. OPEN and Pelumbra are creating ways to build partnerships with other networks to enhance this work. We are seeking to develop a “network of networks “to amplify the work on climate change, generate new knowledge and change strategies, and disseminate these ideas around the world.
The more connected our networks become, the faster this cycle of dissemination occurs.
One Planet Education Networks 