Want To Fix the World, Ubuntu (Humanity to Others) Can Help

Zita Sebesvari, Deputy Director of the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security. Credit- Busani Bafana-IPS

By Busani Bafana

NAIROBI, Apr 12 2025 (IPS) - The world needs an urgent fix and humanity could just be it.

As inequality and polycrises stalk the world, deep changes are needed in relationships with nature if the planet is to be livable and sustainable, warns a new United Nations report, calling for a bold change in mindsets and taking responsibility.

Zita Sebesvari, Deputy Director of the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security. Credit- Busani Bafana-IPS

The 2025 Interconnected Disaster Risks report, Turning Over a New Leaf, published by the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), calls for a radical shift to tackle pressing challenges confronting the world today.

By tackling the root causes of social challenges and mindsets that have escalated inequalities, biodiversity loss, pollution, waste, and the climate change crisis, only then can we unlock lasting solutions.

The report highlights interconnections at the root of global challenges, offering solutions through what the authors call the Theory of Deep Change (ToDC), which dives down to the root causes of global problems by identifying structures and assumptions that perpetuate them. For example, when a river is so clogged with plastic waste that it creates disastrous floods, people might criticize the waste management system and call for more recycling.

“To truly solve the problems, we have to make these deep dives and we have to change how we see waste. If you are talking about plastic, for example, it’s not enough to recycle plastic, but we have to substantially reduce plastic production and use, and that’ll be the only way to get rid of the problem,” said Dr. Zita Sebesvari, Deputy Director of the United Nations University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security and Lead Author of the Interconnected Disaster Risks report.

“We can’t recycle ourselves out of the plastic crisis but need to fundamentally change the use of plastics,” Sebesvari emphasized.

Ubuntu Counts

Why these deep changes at this moment?

“We need to act now and collectively for a sustainable planet. When it comes to global solidarity, for example, in Africa, there is the well-known philosophy of Ubuntu, and this is laying down a very different relationship within the community,” Sebesvari told IPS. “Ubuntu is very much reflecting what we wanted to say in our report. We found ubuntu to be a reflection of our own thoughts and we felt that it was very reassuring that what we thought was practiced somewhere.”

Prof. Shen Xiaomeng, Director of UNU-EHS, said society has been indifferent to the crises:

“For years, scientists have warned us about the damage we’re doing to our planet and how to stop it. But we are not taking meaningful actions. We know climate change is worsening, yet fossil fuel consumption keeps hitting record highs.”

“We already have a waste crisis, yet household waste is projected to double by 2050. Time and again, we see the danger ahead, yet we keep moving towards it.”

Quick Fixes Are Not Quick nor Sustainable

The report advocates for a non-use agreement for solar geoengineering, describing it as a ‘superficial fix’ that is not solving underlying root causes by trying to fix the problem with an intervention that will create unknown risks, especially in more tropical zones of the planet.

“We are worried that this is an option that probably will be put more and more on the table in the next years, and we wanted to clarify that this is not a solution and we actually shouldn’t go into that solution. African member states of the UN actually do not want to have solar geoengineering.”

The world’s “take-make-waste” model is unsustainable, generating 2 billion tons of household waste annually—enough to fill a line of shipping containers wrapped around the equator 25 times.

The report calls for a rethinking of the concept of “waste” and for shifting to a circular economy that prioritizes durability, repair and reuse

Turning a New Leaf?

“If we do not do it, the risk will further increase and like climate change, we are finding ourselves in a risky world,” said Sebesvari. “I am hopeful that the change is already under way, so there are many people who are working on renewable energies and on waste.”

Some communities have taken to heart the theory of deep change in embracing zero waste. The Green Africa Youth Organisation in Ghana and Uganda is promoting the concept of Zero waste by trying to keep waste out of landfills, improving the working conditions of waste pickers and limiting waste production. While in the South of Japan, Kamikatsu city has a comprehensive zero-waste program.

“We limit ourselves when we focus only on preventing the worst, rather than striving for the best,” she said. “By believing in our collective power, we can shape a world where future generations do not just survive but thrive. It’s time for fresh thinking and, ultimately, turning over a new leaf.”

IPS UN Bureau Report