Eco-Social Contracts for Sustainable and Just Futures

This open access groundbreaking volume introduces eco-social contracts as a bold and actionable vision for addressing the major, interconnected crises of our time—climate change, biodiversity loss, rising inequality, and the erosion of public trust and democratic legitimacy. 

At its heart lies a fundamental realization that can no longer be ignored: the social contract has been broken for billions of people, and with it, the bonds between people, planet, and power must be rewoven.

Increasingly recognized by the UN, global assessments such as the IPBES Transformative Change Assessment, and by a growing international community of civil society leaders, youth movements, and NGOs, eco-social contracts call for renewed solidarity, systemic equity across generations and communities, inclusive governance, and a fundamental transformation of economic systems.

They challenge dominant economic paradigms and present a holistic and compelling alternative—one that rebalances our relationships with nature, institutions, and one another. This book captures that momentum, blending visionary thinking and grounded inspiration with hard-won lessons on unlocking and mobilising collective agency.

Grounded in diverse knowledge systems—from Indigenous cosmologies and feminist and care-based economics to regenerative development and post-growth thought—it brings together contributions from leading scholars, practitioners, artists, and activists across the globe. Bridging theory and practice, it offers vital insights into how regenerative, inclusive, and just futures can be co-created.

For changemakers, students, and all those seeking hope, direction, and clarity in a time of global uncertainty, this book is both a call to action and a guide for transformation—inviting readers to imagine and co-create sustainable and just futures our hearts know are possible.