The missing links in scientists’ warnings regarding greatest threats facing humanity

By Bharat Dogra 

In 1992 and 2017, world scientists—including many Nobel laureates—issued powerful and timely warnings about the grave threats facing Earth’s life-supporting systems. A third statement, released in 2022, focused exclusively on climate change. While theqse declarations have played an invaluable role in awakening global awareness, the time has now come for a more comprehensive and justice-oriented statement that fully reflects the multidimensional nature of the survival crisis confronting humanity.

The 1992 World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity, issued at an early stage of global concern, was signed by over 1,500 scientists. It stated:

“If unchecked, many of our current practices put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are urgently needed if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.”

Twenty-five years later, in 2017, over 15,000 scientists signed the Second Notice, making it one of the most widely endorsed scientific declarations in history. This statement assessed whether humanity had acted on the warnings of 1992. Its verdict was bleak:

“Since 1992, with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly most of them are getting far worse.”

The 2017 statement was commendable not only for recognizing the worsening crisis but also for broadening its recommendations to include social concerns such as reducing wealth inequalities. Yet, despite these valuable additions, it still fell short in several crucial respects. For instance, while advocating for the expansion of conservation areas, it overlooked the widespread displacement and loss of livelihoods that often accompany such measures when pursued through a distorted approach to conservation.

Extensive research and community experience have shown that conservation succeeds best when it is linked to the creation of sustainable and dignified livelihoods for local communities—particularly the poor—rather than being imposed at their expense. Conservation can and should go hand in hand with strengthening livelihoods, ensuring that people become partners rather than victims in environmental protection efforts. Ignoring this human dimension leads to alienation, conflict, and ultimately, failure of conservation itself.

Thus, a vital task ahead is to integrate environmental protection with justice and livelihood concerns. Unfortunately, many scientific statements fail to give these linkages adequate attention—or any attention at all. When environmental goals are pursued without considering social equity, they risk deepening inequalities and triggering new forms of suffering even as they attempt to save the planet.

The same applies to the issue of disarmament. Some scientific declarations rightly stress the need to eliminate nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, yet they often do not explore the broader conditions required for lasting peace. Disarmament cannot be achieved in isolation—it depends on cultivating global trust, reducing militarism, and fostering systems rooted in justice, democracy, and international cooperation.

A future World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity should therefore not only update the environmental and technological dimensions of the crisis but also address the full range of existential threats, including nuclear weapons, biological and chemical arms, artificial intelligence–based weapon systems, and the emerging dangers of space militarization. These threats could destroy life on Earth even faster—and in more agonizing ways—than environmental collapse.

Moreover, the next statement must be genuinely global, non-partisan, and inclusive. It should draw upon the wisdom not only of scientists but also of peace scholars, social thinkers, and grassroots leaders who have long worked for justice, democracy, and ecological harmony. Only through such collaboration can we prepare a declaration that speaks to all humanity and serves as an authentic call to action.

The urgency could not be greater. We are rapidly running out of time to avert irreversible damage to the Earth and to human civilization. Yet, the task remains achievable if pursued within a broad framework of peace, democracy, and justice—through a worldwide campaign and social movement that unites people across divides. In doing so, humanity can rediscover its noblest purpose: to protect all life and to leave behind a safer and more compassionate world for future generations.

Scientists, aided by scholars and citizens alike, have a decisive role to play in this endeavor. No mission is more urgent—or more uplifting—than to join hands in saving our shared planet before it is too late.

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The writer is Honorary Convener of the Campaign to Save the Earth Now, with its SED Demand (Save the Earth Decade). His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, Earth Without Borders, and A Day in 2071