As important as the rest of the listed ingredients to sustainability transitions are, repairing the relationship between nature and people is in my opinion by far the most crucial one. With education we can enlighten people about sustainability, with clean technology we can replace harmful old technologies, and with the circular economy we can try to conserve scarce resources. However, none of these alone will have a great enough impact on pursuing a sustainability transition if people’s minds and wills are not set on saving the planet. This is best achieved by making people genuinely care about nature, which, of course, cannot happen instantly or in a forced way. Our attitude must change from a resource-centered and exploitative mindset to an interactive and nature-preserving relationship.
One example of an unhealthy relationship with nature is that in the last half-century, our species has significantly altered large portions of the Earth's surface, marine areas, and inland water systems. To fix this, our appreciation for nature must change. Repairing the relationship with nature involves various approaches, such as incorporating green spaces into urban planning or considering animal rights. Globally, green urban planning often requires creating greenery in the midst of concrete jungles, for example, by converting parking lots into parks or enabling balcony farming to bring nature closer to people. However, in my view, in heavily forested countries, cities should approach the issue by preserving urban forests and natural areas as much as possible
For example, in Helsinki, the decision-makers' approach to the relationship with nature sometimes seems incomprehensible. On the one hand, valuable forests are being cleared for new housing developments, while on the other hand, the city may establish a small green area and call it green development. To me, this is a clear example of when the heart is not fully committed to the cause, and economic considerations still strongly influence values and choices.
To achieve a sustainable transition, we must strive to correct our distorted relationship with nature at the individual, societal, and global levels.