Since its introduction in 2000, the concept of the Anthropocene – the idea that human activities are the major driver of Earth systems – has become highly influential throughout society, including in culture, science, and law. Yet despite decades of research revealing humanity’s influence on the planet, the Anthropocene Working Group’s (AWG) proposal of an Anthropocene epoch was ultimately rejected by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) in 2024.
Now, a new commentary paper by authors from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology calls on the IUGS to fully disclose the relevant documentation, as well as for an independent procedural review of the decision.
The paper documents procedural violations that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the IUGS’ decision, the authors argue.
“Our main concern isn’t the rejection itself. A proposal can legitimately be rejected,” says Georg Schäfer, lead author of the paper. “The issue is that no adequate scientific justification for it was ever published, and serious allegations on procedural inconsistencies remain unaddressed.”
Those procedural concerns include a compromised evaluation, in which the Anthropocene Working Group could not address comments or make revisions, and an invalid voting process, in which the majority of votes cast were invalid under the body’s rules. An internal ethics report investigating these violations, which the IUGS executive committee did not act upon, remains publicly inaccessible.
“The Anthropocene epoch proposal demands transparency and procedural legitimacy,” says Professor Jürgen Renn, founding director of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology. “If decisions regarding a humanity-induced planetary crisis can be made behind closed doors, with key documents withheld and public communication vague or contradictory, then geoscience's capacity to inform societal understanding of Earth system change is diminished.”
Earth's Future
Commentary/editorial
Science or Strategy? The Rejection of the Anthropocene Epoch Demands Transparency
1-Oct-2026