The concept of the Anthropocene has emerged as a, if not the, primary descriptor of our modern moment. It signifies that humans have become the largest driver of geologic change on the planet. Recognizing the integrated, co-evolving nature of earth and human systems, the late Pope Francis, former Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, called for a Care for Our Common Home that simultaneously addresses the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Specifically, he called for an integral change of the heart to live and love each other and the earth differently such that ‘sustainability’ and ‘planetary health’ benefits unfold from a core conversion of individuals and societies, not new parts in the same system. This, he called ‘integral ecology’. The call to integral ecology is a call to a revolutionary transformation not just in how we are in the world and how we impact it, but also in how we see and experience the world—it starts with how we see and treat each other. This volume explores the many pathways, mechanisms, and operationalizations of integral ecology, while developing its contours, potential limitations or uncertainties, and opportunities for all people of goodwill.

Richard (Drew) Marcantonio is the Assistant Profess of Environment, Peace, and Global Affairs in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. Richard is a researcher, teacher, and practitioner focused on regenerative and durable livelihoods, environmental management and policy, environmental and other violence, and peacebuilding. He is the author of The Environment in Conflict: Implications and Pathways (2026; Cambridge University Press) Environmental Violence: In the Earth System and the Human Niche (2022; Cambridge University Press), co-author of the textbook Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills (2022; Cambridge University Press), lead co-editor (with John Paul Lederach and Agustin Fuentes) of Environmental Violence Explored (2024; Cambridge University Press). He has published numerous peer-reviewed, policy, and public facing articles in periodicals ranging from Peacebuilding to Environmental Science and Policy to the popular periodical the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. He has conducted research and practice on these critical issues on five continents working with communities, elected officials, regulators, corporations, and NGOs alike.