The threat of nuclear war is again heightened and gaining prominence on the global governance agenda, together with new concerns related to, for instance, the development of ever more advanced AI (artificial intelligence).[4] However, two other recent major initiatives have more in common with the Einstein-Russell Manifesto: the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty[5] and the Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement,[6] both of which have been signed and promoted by a significant number of scholars in relevant fields.
The scholars and scientists behind all these initiatives, from Einstein and Russell onwards, can now be identified as early adopters of Anthropocene norms. If we today want planetwide democracy, this project should be designed in ways that value the input of legitimately concerned experts, such as these, over that of more untrustworthy actors – foremost here various corporations and national governments that tend to prioritize short-term interests over the interests of humanity and the wider planetary biosphere.