People as solutions to sustainability

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Yttredal et al.'s (2024) commentary on ''Fractal Approaches to Scaling Transformations to Sustainability'' (O'Brien et al. 2023).Their concern is that the concept of universal values overlooks how social priorities have evolved to work against sustainability principles, proposing that our social brains may be a root cause of unsustainable development.Interestingly, we interpret this research differently and conclude that humans can also be considered the solution to sustainability challenges.Below, we elaborate on why our social brains may be key to sustainability and how universal values can help connect us to others and to principles such as environmental integrity, social justice, and interconnectedness.The question of why people do not choose sustainable alternatives, even when available, has been a focus of research in social sciences and humanities.While psychological research shows that our brains are ''wired to connect,'' the nature and quality of human actions and interactions are dynamic and context-dependent, influenced by innovations, institutions, infrastructure, and policies, as well as interests and power relationships.These factors can nudge people toward unsustainable behaviors, but they can also foster political agency leading to structural changes for collective well-being.Research from evolutionary theory, emerging neuroscience, and human value theories suggests that our social brains can contribute significantly to solving sustainability challenges.