Dodo J. Thampapillai is an honorary professor in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, where he previously held a personal chair in environmental economics. He is currently a senior fellow in executive education at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, where he was previously a professor. He also held Visiting Professorships/Fellowships at Simon Fraser University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Christian Albrechts University of Keil and the Australian National University. Dodo Thampapillai has been teaching economics and environmental economics for over 50 years leading him towards a serious rethink of how economics is taught and practised. Matthias Ruth is Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of York, York, United Kingdom. He previously served as Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Alberta, Canada and in various other leadership positions in the USA and with academic appointments in numerous fields, including economics, engineering, geography, public policy and urban affairs. His research focuses on dynamic modelling of natural resource use, industrial and infrastructure systems analysis and environmental economics and policy. His theoretical work heavily draws on concepts from engineering, economics and ecology, while his applied research utilises methods of non-linear dynamic modelling as well as adaptive and anticipatory management. Applications of his work cover the full spectrum from local to regional, to national and global environmental challenges, as well as the investment and policy opportunities these challenges present.