What are we aiming for? Addressing the knowledge gap of a long-term sustainable society

To properly address the polycrisis we need to tackle the underlying causes and thereby transition to a long-term sustainable and just society. The current mainstream proposed pathways out of our predicament focus mainly on climate change, and heavily utilise technological solutions. Although addressing the polycrisis holistically is not often the aim of these pathways, the fact that they often transgress other planetary boundaries means they cannot be used to inform us what a truly sustainable society looks like. The widespread assumptions of technological optimism also do not hold up to scrutiny when we consider the equity of their assumptions at the global level, yet are frequently relied on to construct policy. It is vital we acknowledge and then begin to address the knowledge gap left by ruling out incompatible transition scenarios. • Mainstream climate and ecological emergency mitigation scenarios are not adequate. • They often collide with existing well-established science. • The whole range of planetary boundaries are often not considered. • Scenarios implicitly continue the status quo of over-exploiting the Global South to benefit over-consumers. • For true long-term sustainability we must develop holistic scenarios which address the whole polycrisis.