Monitoring of contemporary changes in the natural environment, including systematic measurements of climatic and hydrological elements, is one of the key research trends in the field of Earth sciences. Basic research, based on climate and environmental monitoring, inferring and predicting changes, is an important element of the development of modern societies and economies. Can they be performed better, more efficiently and faster? Can they be more integrated with other scientific disciplines? What solutions and tools to use and how to manage data?

Climate policy and strategies to counteract climate change give rise to numerous discussions. In light of the available knowledge about climate change, its protection is a priority for the sake of the living conditions of future generations. However, some controversy is related to the economy and economic costs of climate protection, which have an impact on the creation of the prosperity of countries and households. What strategies do we observe in economic practice and what can their effects be? How do companies, politicians and scientists shape our attitudes and actions? What are the strategies to optimize environmental costs and benefits? Is there one climate policy, or are there different varieties of it?

Research on the evolution of the climate in the geological past is an important source of information about the natural environment in various spatial dimensions and time scales. Knowledge about the causes and directions of palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental transformation are a key element of research on the contemporary climate, as well as a starting point for predicting its future changes. Does the knowledge of the climate transformation in the past allow for a proper assessment of the contemporary directions of its changes? Can the conclusions from the research on climate evolution constitute the basis for the creation and improvement of climate strategies? Can climate reconstruction support climate policy and influence its changes?

Businesses and economies have a varied impact on the environment and climate change. It depends a lot on their area of activity and geographic location. The ecological factor has an increasing impact on the competitiveness of enterprises and the market demand for their products. It derives, on the one hand, from the necessity to meet certain ecological standards, and on the other – from the growing ecological awareness of societies. The concept of sustainable development of the company is becoming one of the main competitive challenges in the global economy. What competition strategies based on ecological factors are currently used by entrepreneurs in Poland and abroad? How to prevent environmental degradation without limiting the pace of economic development? Are there strategies to optimize ecological risk in the process of economic growth?

The vast majority of societies in developed countries live in cities; in Europe – more than two-thirds of the population. Urban development is the basis of socio-economic development. But cities also generate numerous social and environmental problems related to air pollution, transport, waste and sewage production, etc. Uncontrolled development of cities, including their infrastructure; concreting and asphalting the earth’s surface, limiting and developing green areas, and other human interventions in the natural environment, threaten biodiversity, create the risk of periodic floods and constant shortages of clean water. How and in what direction will cities develop? How will public transport and individual traffic of residents be organized? How do the adopted urban development strategies affect the condition of the climate and the environment? Are sustainable city development strategies and smart cities a practice or just a theory?

Scientific research on climate change and its environmental and socio-economic consequences leave no doubt as to the need for an urgent and consistent energy transformation. The war in Ukraine and the current energy situation, especially in European countries, have made it necessary to urgently seek alternative energy sources and develop methods of their industrial use. Energy security has become a priority in the political and economic decisions of governments. Green energy transformation, including the assumption of achieving climate neutrality by 2050, are gaining significance. A systematic increase in the role of alternative fuels used in transport plays a very important role. Investments in modern zero-emission technologies, optimization of energy consumption and climate protection create the most important challenges for our generation and the future of the world. What technological solutions are available? What are the directions of the energy transformation? Will the use of alternative fuels allow to achieve the expected pace of economic growth and ensure the competitiveness of enterprises and the economy?

Scientific and expert knowledge is an instrument and a resource of international politics. Scientific diplomacy concerns activities carried out at the interface between foreign policy and the state’s science and innovation policy, and often has to reconcile conflicting strategies of competition and cooperation. The context of climate change and the growing importance of climate and environmental protection give this cooperation a special role. To what extent can science diplomacy support the country’s sustainable economic development? Can science diplomacy tools shape climate policy and co-create ecological strategies of countries and their economies? To what extent can science diplomacy prevent the theft of intellectual property and promote the safe transfer of knowledge?

Climate change poses a serious challenge to global food security. Climate warming, fluctuations in the amount of precipitation and a high frequency of extreme weather phenomena – have a drastic impact on the conditions of plant production and the implementation of food management processes. There are problems with the lack of resistance of plants and animals to the influence of climatic and microbiological factors. Invasive species of plants and animals are developing, and entire ecosystems and environments of food production are changing. Surface warming of sea water and an increased supply of nutrients due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers – lead to the accumulation of algae, toxins, and the formation of outbreaks of water contamination, as well as disruption of the natural water cycle in the environment. To what extent do the increased emissivity of the modern economy and unfavourable climate changes affect the food security of the country? How must the technologies of animal farming and agricultural production change to reduce their negative impact on the environment and reduce its devastation? What technological or organizational changes should be implemented to minimize the impact of agriculture on the natural environment?

Climate changes are of a dual nature. On the one hand, they are a consequence of socio-economic processes, and on the other, they change the principles of the functioning of societies and economies. They have an impact on human and animal health, conditions and quality of life, create conditions for current activities and future development prospects. They lead to social and food exclusion of entire societies, although these processes are also favoured by overproduction of food and its waste. The entire ecosystems and agricultural production sectors have changed, and the existence of certain species of plants and animals is threatened. We are witnessing the beginning of the food and climate migration process, stimulated by political instability. How do climate and environmental change processes affect social science? Is social science, with its cognitive apparatus, able to slow down or stop climate change? Is it possible to better manage natural resources using the methods and tools of social sciences? Can social sciences analysing, inter alia, consumer demand behaviour, contribute to the reversal of unfavourable changes in the natural environment and climate of the world?