Environment and climate crisis

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Humankind's relationship with the planet is being stretched like never before: we’re seeing more plastic in the ocean, worse pollution in the air, rising sea levels and growing desertification.

Our impact on the climate and the environment is affecting communities from Southampton to Somalia, and everywhere in between. It’s one of the defining local and global challenges of our age. Like the industrial revolution and the birth of the internet, it will continue to be one of the great disruptors of the 21st century, radically reshaping how we live, work and play. The climate crisis is a crucial issue for Nesta, as it is for us all, given it cuts across all of the work we are doing.

The scale of the response needed cannot come only from top-down policy, nor solely from the hard work of grassroots action. It will need to be from society at large: in our behaviour, our way of living, in our relationship with the planet. We need to invest in social innovation, in how we can imagine and create a society that works for all of us, and for the planet.

What are the new ways of living and working that we need now to embrace? Nesta’s approach in this area is practical and collaborative, driven by a rigorous use of evidence and data, emerging technology and the power of people.