“Strategy X-EXIST” A Plan to Secure the Future of Humanity from Existential Threats
A Collaborative Initiative by the InterAction Council with One Young World
Draft Summary for Discussion, October 2024
Vision: Create a flourishing and safe world for all to secure the well-being of future generations.
Goal: Prevent and reduce risks from existential threats to ensure human survival.
Key Threats and Risks: Existential threats and risks can be considered under the Sustainable Development Goal clusters of Planet, Peace, People and Prosperity:
- Planet: Threats range from mass extinctions from asteroids to massive volcanic eruptions and biodiversity collapse to threats from our climate emergency
- People: Inequalities, food and water insecurity act as drivers for migration and conflict, whilst a warming planet increases the risk of pandemics with the potential to threaten human existence
- Peace: Nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare, including engineered pandemics; Digital Warfare and Artificial Intelligence
- Prosperity: Mechanical-Technical-Industrialisation including unsustainable growth (planet); unhealthy crowded cities and rapid travel (pandemics) and widening inequalities (peace); human security risks are posed from emerging technology, including Quantum Computing and genetic engineering
Challenges: include fragmented global governance, sectoral and reactive responses, compounded by nationalism, underestimation or denial of risks and competing interests. Moreover, threats and risks often interact and reinforce each other with the potential to escalate existential catastrophes:
Strategic Sustainable Systems: Utilise strategic foresight to design processes for the delivery of multi-disciplinary governance and policy for the:
- Planet: prevent tipping points from escalating and creating runaway climate change; create a strategic Global Emergency response to stabilise our Essential Determinants of Life on this Planet including Temperature, Air, Water, Land and Food systems and to assist in recovery – CPR for a Flourishing Planet
- People: prevent future Pandemics – through enhanced global governance with regional and local coordination, create One Health systems for prevention, detection, early warning systems, preparedness and response; transform global health security as a global good with digital solutions
- Peace: prevent violence within families and communities, and create inclusive and fair societies to promote a culture of peace; identify risks for conflicts for early intervention with diplomacy and development for pathways to peace including intercountry initiatives; advocate for and agree on common global rights and responsibilities, and implement controls for technologies and weapons of mass-destruction; adopt no first use policies, remove hair trigger alerts and pledge no use of nuclear weapons
- Prosperity: Scale renewable energy to underpin Human Security, Sustainable Development and Growth; Establish Global Governance for Digital Technology and AI to reduce risks and enhance beneficial solutions; promote open access Health and Education, Research and Innovation to create a flourishing world for all
A Global Futures Platform - for Planet, People and Peace: to enable governance, knowledge, advocacy, and capacity, to scale the rapid delivery of integrated systems with digital solutions.
Recommendations: draw upon international priorities identified in IAC meetings & reports and are driven forward with partners by the Global Youth Security Council and One Young World:
GOVERNANCE: establish a Global Existential Security Threats (EXIST) Board
STRATEGY: develop living plans (Strategy X-EXIST) to save the future of humanity
PLATFORM: advance a Global Futures Platform - for Planet, People and Peace (P4PPP)
ADVOCACY: enable Champions and Ambassadors for the Well-Being of Future Generations
LEADERS: strengthen intergenerational leadership for preventing Existential Secuirty Threats
PARTNERS: coordinate and scale collaborative partnerships and global communities.