Editorial—GEET: Navigating the Path to a More Sustainable Future

Over the past few centuries, we have witnessed the dominance of Homo sapiens in the biosphere, manifested through technological innovations and transcontinental mobility, leading to drastic changes in the Earth’s ecosystems. As a result of this development trajectory, we now live in a world characterized by urbanization, industrialization, and globalization.

Where will this evolutionary path take us? The answer is still uncertain, but the path already taken has directed us to unprecedented global challenges such as hunger, poverty, war conflicts, migration, climate change, and creation of a challenging environment for global governance. Will we overcome these problems and reorganize societies?

Even though considerable efforts have been made, the practical results are discouraging. Take, for instance, the recent COP29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, where developed countries reached a consensus to provide up to USD 300 million in funding for global warming issues. Is this amount sufficient to mitigate climate change? Of course not. In the coming years, we will witness a steady increase in Earth’s temperature, which will result in drastic changes in ecosystems and in people’s lives, especially the poorest. While the global coalition has not been able to find viable solutions to at least circumvent this problem, most people worldwide have contributed little or nothing to help with this cause.

The journal ‘Green Energy and Environmental Technology (ISSN 2754-6314)’ has been the torch bearer of these issues of global importance. GEET publishes research studies across environmental sciences, showcasing highlights within rapidly developing fields that have a high impact on humankind and its environment. Articles published have strongly supported the United Nation’s SDGs, particularly those directly related to renewable energies, environmental engineering, clean technologies, green and sustainable chemistry, including sustainable energy generation, storage, and distribution.

It is the beginning of a new year, the time to do more and better. The future is characterized by uncertainty, but we need to imagine the future within a sustainable framework.

Embracing this uncertainty and complexity that is inherent to this time allows for pluralism in understanding and addressing the resulting challenges.

We need to think differently. Entrenched norms, taken-for-granted assumptions, should be subjected to critical scrutiny. Research scholars should continuously think inside and outside the box, aiming to understand their contributions to the future. Nations, communities, and various actors in the ecosystem need to proactively work to safeguard the future.

The future offers diverse ways to navigate uncertainties across time and space, incorporating these into decision-making and transitions lead to a just and sustainable future.

Professor Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil