Accelerated by a virus, we have suddenly found ourselves in a possible future. The existen-tial threat appears as if through a magnifying glass, allowing us to perceive the state of the world with increased clarity. With astonishment, we have seen political taboos and unques-tioned assumptions falling by the wayside, allowing our institutions to take action. All of a sudden, the tried and tested arguments of interest-driven politics – economic constraints, technological barriers, unchanging behavioural patterns, individual responsibility – no long-er seem to be guiding the decision-making. Behind this is a growing awareness that the cur-rent socio-political range of actions will be insufficient to cope with future crises, which are just as threatening, but of a completely different nature.

While the world is under pressure to emerge from the coronavirus crisis as intact as possi-ble, the virus has catapulted us to a crossroads. Can we rise to the challenge of the corona-virus phenomenon with answers from yesterday? Or will we look for the answers of tomor-row which also fulfil the various challenges surrounding sustainable development? On the basis of four areas of action, the figure illustrates that established filters of perception are unable to provide any prospects for resolving future problems. Whether it is the economy, the environment, global justice or the role of science: conventional interpretations of prob-lems and corresponding reflexive solutions aligned to short-term effects have become obso-lete. The virally-conveyed clarity shows us the fragility of the achievements of civilisation. However, it is also capable of pointing to new concepts for a forward-looking design capabil-ity.

The CSC blog is a joint publication by the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA), the scientific network Future Earth, the International Science Council (ISC) and Foundation 2° – German Businesses for Climate Protection.