When Jane Goodall left our physical world, her passing was widely marked — a testament to how deeply her quiet wisdom had touched us. Her fieldwork on chimpanzee societies transformed our understanding of the animal realm and, more subtly, our view of ourselves. What surprised me was how many people felt this loss so personally. Perhaps I had underestimated our collective capacity for empathy and reflection.
Beyond her ground-breaking science, Goodall was never afraid to confront the most urgent political questions of our time. She once urged us to face two taboos — the illusion of perpetual economic growth and the fragility of a planet already burdened by human numbers (source).
Common sense, one might think — yet in policy circles, a courageous heresy. The idea that growth must have limits remains unpopular, even as evidence mounts that we have crossed several planetary boundaries. Each of us must therefore decide where we stand, for our children’s and grandchildren’s wellbeing depends on it.
If humanity is to flourish within an intact biosphere, we must reduce our collective footprint. That footprint is shaped by two forces: the number of people on this planet and the average consumption of finite resources — as captured in the simple identity impact = population × affluence × technology (Ehrlich & Holdren 1971). Recognising limits need not mean renouncing comfort; it means designing prosperity that endures.
Reports by the UN Environment Programme, the World Wildlife Fund, and countless scholars remind us that our current path is unsustainable. Jane’s legacy calls us to realism and courage: to protect nature, invest in people, and act both locally and globally.
That is also the impulse behind Europeans for the Planet — A community that aims to enable the long-term survival of humanity in an intact environment. So what are we waiting for? Let’s convene — and commit.
