"At least for China, I believe a New Civilization is better understood as an Ecological Civilization. And the Unveiling of an Ecological Civilization is conceivable only with the prerequisite of certain well established sufficient and necessary conditions. In the current context, sufficient conditions focus on Climate Change and the Pollution Problems that permeate virtually every aspect of modern society; necessary conditions impose technological constraints. This means that while concerns surrounding Climate Change and pollution problems consolidate into a call for a transformative adjustment in existing lifestyles, it will not be possible to usher in an Ecological Civilization until certain technological barriers have been removed. We see Artificial Intelligence and Big Data as such technological barriers." This is the lead of the proposal "The Technological Turning Points of An Ecological Civilization" by Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) and a member of the Executive Committee of the Club of Rome. This proposal has been submitted to the Club of Rome (CoR) for the first meeting of the “Emerging New Civilization Initiative” (ENCI), to take place this Thursday-Friday (March 21-22) in Dubrovnik.

In October 2018, the “Emerging New Civilization Initiative” (ENCI) was adopted by the Club of Rome (CoR) as one of its global sustainability transformations, whose goal is to overcome current value crisis and, with the shift into a new global civilization, reconcile humanity with the biosphere on which their existence depends. The ENCI is a fortuitous overlapping as well as an expansion on the thoughts of the “New Paradigm Project”, which was coined by the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS) at the UN in Geneva in 2013. Agreed to a joint occasion for maximal collision and melding of thoughts, the CoR and WAAS have decided to co-organize the 2-day program of the first meeting of the ENCI, or the “Open Debate & Engagement Meeting”, on March 21-22 in Dubrovnik.

“The Technological Turning Points of An Ecological Civilization" is, therefore, one of Dr. Zhou Jinfeng interpretations of the ENCI and represents CBCGDF’s full commitment to the call from CoR for emergent actions to face up to Climate Change, the Transition to Renewable Energies, and other imbalances between humanity and the planetary life support system. “Because of its inherent Chinese characteristics, the role of China’s growth path and development trajectory in contributing to the worldwide sustainability transformations will have to be cast in a Chinese context”, said Dr. Zhou when explaining his proposal to the ENCI meeting, “Hence, At least for China, I believe a New Civilization is better understood as an Ecological Civilization”.

Dr. Zhou and CBCGDF believe the ENCI meeting a milestone in human history, and an important learning opportunity to share and exchange Chinese ideas and studies on Ecological Civilization. By submitting and sharing this proposal, CBCGDF is expecting with warm appreciation each and every comment from the most distinguished and renowned scholars and researchers of CoR and WAAS, on the joint exploration of the New Civilization.

The original version of “The Technological Turning Points of An Ecological Civilization” is cited below for comments and feedbacks:

The Technological Turning Points of An Ecological Civilization

By Dr. Zhou Jinfeng

“At least for China, I believe a New Civilization is better understood as an Ecological Civilization. And the Unveiling of an Ecological Civilization is conceivable only with the prerequisite of certain well established sufficient and necessary conditions. In the current context, sufficient conditions focus on Climate Change and the Pollution Problems that permeate virtually every aspect of modern society; necessary conditions impose technological constraints. This means that while concerns surrounding Climate Change and pollution problems consolidate into a call for a transformative adjustment in existing lifestyles, it will not be possible to usher in an Ecological Civilization until certain technological barriers have been removed. We see Artificial Intelligence and Big Data as such technological barriers." — Dr. Zhou Jinfeng

Past decades have witnessed the earth-shaking development of the Industrial Civilization. Despite improved life quality and health, the Industrial Civilization has been increasingly blamed for its irrevocable and unsustainable impact on the whole ecosystem, including for example the destruction of the natural habitats. Thus comes the call for an Ecological Civilization. I would argue in favor of "Ecological Civilization" rather than "New Civilization", as the spirit of civilization is defined by a series of reforms that mark the evolution of human society.  

Some people believe we must create a New Civilization, and with it, all our problems can be alleviated and solved. Yet I believe the term and concept of an Ecological Civilization are more appropriate, accurate, informative, and consistent, as they capture most directly the central idea of civilization. All existing problems and hence their solutions relate to ecology; whether such challenges can be overcome with ecological approaches will determine the future path of human development.

“Eco is interpreted as ‘family’ in Ancient Greek. And the long yearned for civilization is more precisely understood as innovations able to reverse further destruction of our living habitat.” Why do we need clean energy? Why is a circular economy essential? Because they have been painstakingly conceived in response to Climate Change, Pollution Problems, Resource Problems, Oil and Other Energy Problems, problems that all fall into the category of threats to our living habitat.

This idea underpins the development of most international conventions, including the "International Convention on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture", "Convention on Biological Diversity", and "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage". The civilization we want requires a comprehensive transformation of our attitudes towards ecology, the environment, and habitats. This is why I prefer "Ecological Civilization" to "New Civilization".

“Without Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, Ecological Civilization would be ethereal.” This is because “Living in harmony with nature” is conceivable only with these two technologies. Every single individual decision, minute and insignificant when viewed in isolation, combine and sum to a tremendous power that serves to shape human environment and habitats. Technological innovations help define and improve each individual decision.

(To be continued.)