Where open science fuels climate action: COP 30

Mobilizing Science for Planetary Impact: From Breakthroughs to Transformations

Science doesn’t change the world until people use it. This panel brought together brilliant researchers to show how open, actionable science can transform entire regions, from the Amazon to fast-growing cities facing climate stress.

The conversation focused on the science behind forest resilience, community-led adaptation, urban water challenges, and socio-environmental justice, and how, when openly shared, this knowledge helps shift policies, incentives, and systems.

Key takeaways from the panel discussion:

• Dr. Fabiola S. Rodríguez (Autonomous Metropolitan University, National Champion, Frontiers Planet Prize, Mexico 2025) demonstrated how community-driven, university-anchored restoration of La Piedad Lagoon has revived biodiversity, strengthened local livelihoods, influenced national policy, and built resilience to future freshwater scarcity across Mexico.

• Dr. Joao Vitor Campos -Silva (Instituto Jurua, co-author winning International Champion article, Frontiers Planet Prize, UK 2023) showed that Indigenous knowledge, co-governance and local stewardship can restore species like pirarucu, protect 15 million hectares of Amazon floodplains, and create a self-reinforcing cycle where conservation and community wellbeing strengthen one another.

• Dr. Ane Alencar (IPAM Amazonia, member of Jury of 100, Frontiers Planet Prize) warned that Amazon fires are accelerating due to drought and climate change, with even low-intensity fires causing long-term biomass loss and massive carbon emissions, pushing the forest toward dangerous feedback loops that threaten its resilience.

The discussion made clear that open science can only drive real planetary impact when it is translated into governance and grounded in equitable, community-centered partnerships that unite Indigenous knowledge, local leadership and scientific expertise. With the planet signaling unprecedented urgency, the solutions showcased here remind us that what is needed now is not new science, but open science and the political will and collective ambition to scale what already works.

From Breakthrough to Impact: Science Driving Amazonian Restoration

With seven of nine planetary boundaries crossed, we can’t rely on yesterday’s tools to fix today’s crisis. This panel explored the emerging technologies featured in the Planetary Health Technologies Report (co-published with World Economic Forum), that will help restore Earth’s stability and speed up global warming solutions.

From new materials and ecosystem-monitoring tools to breakthroughs in food systems, energy, and climate intelligence, the session highlighted tech’s potential when paired with justice, community, and proven nature-based approaches.

Key takeaways from the panel discussion:

• Amazon science driving systems change: breakthrough science from the Amazon can drive systems-level change when translated into governance, policy, and funding pathways. Instituto Juruá exemplifies this impact: research rooted in human and ecological needs has restored ecosystems while strengthening local livelihoods, protecting 15 million hectares of floodplain forest and supporting 140 communities across the state of Amazonas.

• Co-designed, community-centered: truly transformative action relies on inclusive, community-centered partnerships in which scientists, Indigenous leaders, civil society and governments co-design solutions that are equitable, replicable, and capable of scaling across bioregions.

• Science as the backbone of climate justice: given the urgency of planetary boundary transgression, science must sit at the heart of climate justice through consistent biodiversity monitoring stronger mandates, long-term partnerships, and compelling science-based narratives that shape policy mechanisms and sustain impact over time.

Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health

With seven of nine planetary boundaries crossed, we can’t rely on yesterday’s tools to fix today’s crisis. This panel explored the emerging technologies featured in the Planetary Health Technologies Report (co-published with World Economic Forum), that will help restore Earth’s stability and speed up global warming solutions.

From new materials and ecosystem-monitoring tools to breakthroughs in food systems, energy, and climate intelligence, the session highlighted tech’s potential when paired with justice, community, and proven nature-based approaches.

Key takeaways from the panel discussion:

• Scaling tech for true planetary impact: emerging technologies are essential for both mitigating planetary boundary transgressions and improving our understanding of Earth systems, but their impact depends on systemic deployment that meets human and ecological needs, enables scalable and integrated solutions, and aligns with policy, behavioral and institutional change.

• Equitable innovation led by climate-vulnerable nations: climate-vulnerable countries must be genuine co-developers rather than test beds for innovation, with global finance reformed to ensure fair access, equitable scaling, and the ability for these nations to shape and export technological solutions.

• A unified pathway: transformative change can only occur through a coordinated portfolio of technology, policy, finance and societal behavior working together, supported by accountability mechanisms that reflect planetary boundaries, tipping-point risks and the urgency of the crisis.