Drylands contain great biodiversity. Their extension is growing due to climate change, so it is more and more essential to get to know more about them.

[caption id="attachment_119749" align="alignleft" width="500"] Illustration: Anna Sanchis[/caption] The past shapes the future but does not inspire it. Max Planck said that new scientific truths are not imposed by convincing old experts, but by captivating new generations. Improved bad concepts do not become good, but simply more

At the time of publication of this issue, we are incredulously, insecurely, and helplessly witnessing a situation only comparable to that experienced in both twentieth-century World Wars. A global pandemic, which has once again placed the human species before a scenario that is as unprecedented and unknown as it is unpredictable.

Energy is the blood that moves today’s society and is one of the factors that has decisively contributed to improving humanity’s quality of life. This paper addresses the potential challenges and opportunities in the development of global energy systems, emphasising how deeply interconnected the energy and climate debates are.

Robotics and automation and artificial intelligence technologies hold immense potential in addressing many of the societal challenges as exemplified in the sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda of the United Nations.

Without growth there is no progress, but without a supporting system (a lift force), it collapses. We need the new Wright brothers of economy. Urgently, I think.