To control global warming, carbon dioxide CO2 emissions need to be eliminated. At the same time, with the help of nature, greenhouse gases can also be removed from the air.

But this means we have to leave room for nature, since many intact forests, mires or river landscapes act as CO2 “sinks”. They remove CO2 from the air, permanently sequestering it, for example, in trees or in the rich vegetation and moist soils of mires and floodplains.

At the same time, natural landscapes store water, thus mitigating flooding and droughts. They also provide habitats for numerous animals and plants – and room for us to breathe freely.

As recently as the 1990s, there were few alternatives to coal, oil and natural gas. Solar and wind power were much more expensive than energy from fossil fuels. That has now changed.

In 2025, renewables are frequently a better choice than older, polluting energy sources – they are cheaper, cleaner and reduce dependence on unpredictable suppliers.

With innovative storage facilities, energy can flow even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. In addition, geothermal energy (from underground heat) is an extremely reliable source.

Some options will not stand the test of time. Others have yet to be developed. But we’re moving in the right direction: the Stone Age didn’t end because we ran out of stones.

From oven to oasis: asphalted, often unbearably hot cities become “sponge cities” with diverse vegetation and permeable surfaces where water can be stored and evaporate.

More greenery and water storage help to improve the urban climate and mitigate the effects of global warming, such as heatwaves and severe flooding.

In sponge cities, rainwater is allowed to infiltrate rather than being drained away via sewers. For this purpose, the ground must be able to absorb water like a sponge.

Gravel and vegetated surfaces are used instead of asphalt, and storm water is also retained in underground reservoirs in the event of extreme rainfall.

Beaver dams retain water, thus raising the water table, mitigating floods and creating ideal wetland habitats for many animals and plants.

They also help to combat global warming: the luxuriant aquatic plants in beaver ponds bind carbon dioxide CO₂, and carbon C is sequestered in the soil.

A kite energy system could supply power for a whole village without having the visual impact on the landscape of a wind turbine.

Steady high-altitude winds are “harvested” by a tethered kite, and the pulling force is converted into electricity by a generator on the ground. In 2025, promising systems already exist – but many environmental and safety questions remain unresolved.

The most important measure is to stop emitting carbon dioxide CO₂ into the atmosphere. But, in addition, the greenhouse gas can be captured when it is produced, or removed from the air using special filters and then permanently “disposed of”:

CO₂ can be stored in underground rock layers or converted into a solid form. Both of these options have advantages and disadvantages.

Gas can also be stored underground as a reliable source of energy: green hydrogen H₂ is produced by electrolysis, using electricity from solar or wind power, and the energy-rich gas is then piped into underground reservoirs.

These supplies can be tapped at any time, even when there is no wind or sun.

The Earth itself is an inexhaustible source of energy: its internal heat can be used for heating, cooling, and generating or storing electricity.

A wide variety of technologies exploit the same principle: something cold injected into the Earth will return to the surface warm or hot, depending on the depth of the borehole.

How can wind or solar energy be stored without any need for water, mountains or batteries? In a gravity energy storage system, surplus energy is used to lift blocks weighing several tonnes, which are then lowered to generate electricity when it is required.

To reduce carbon dioxide CO₂ emissions, the blocks are made of recycled materials such as rubble.

We are no longer forced to follow immutable natural laws. We exert an influence on the Earth and on the world we live in.

From our amazing and unpredictable brain springs everything that makes us human – such as the ability to reflect on our past and future.

Some insects can digest plastic waste. For example, darkling beetle larvae (better known as mealworms) thrive on a styrofoam diet.

Their excrement can be used as compost, and their bodies – rich in vitamins and proteins – are a nutritious food source, for animals or human beings.

In the space between present and future: human beings (Homo sapiens) evolved from a long series of ancestors who emerged and then disappeared from the Earth.

This is the form we currently take. How will life on Earth shape us in the future? And how will we shape life on Earth?

Concrete-free building, multi-purpose “living structures”: in developments around the world, the construction of human settlements is being reimagined.

For example, trees can blend with timber scaffolds, blurring the boundaries between natural plant growth and human construction measures.

New materials, new shapes: research teams are developing innovative future materials not based on oil.

For example, certain fungi can digest inert waste such as wood chips or oat bran, producing a material which – combined with bacterial cellulose – forms a tough, durable, versatile biopolymer.

• A: Beaver dams retain water, creating valuable wetlands
• B: Underground reservoirs can store carbon dioxide   CO2 or energy-rich hydrogen gas H₂
• C: Production of energy-rich hydrogen gas H2 using renewable energy
• D: Water buffalo help to keep wetlands open by grazing on reeds and bushes
• E: Geothermal plants use the Earth’s inexhaustible internal heat to produce energy
• F: Gravity systems can be used for energy storage and production
• G: Mealworms can digest plastic waste, transforming it into valuable nutrients
• H: Human being, Homo sapiens, a relative newcomer, 1.7 m tall
• J: Vertical farming reduces the use of land and fertilisers, as well as GHG emissions
• K: Fab Tree Hab: vision of a living structure with tree grafting, in showcase

Like all inhabitants of the Earth, we humans are inextricably bound up with the history of our home, this planet.

We have evolved, over an inconceivably long period, from a series of astonishing ancestors – in most cases, the relationship is not immediately obvious. Shown here are just a few important stages in this process.