| 1. |
- Bennich, Therese, 1989-, et al.
(författare)
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Deciphering the scientific literature on SDG interactions : A review and reading guide
- 2020
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 728
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The 2030 Agenda includes 17 overarching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These are integrated in nature, and a principle of indivisibility should guide their implementation. Yet, the 2030 Agenda itself does not provide guidance on what indivisibility means in practice, how the SDGs interact, or on how to assess these interactions. The fast-emerging field of what could be referred to as SDG interaction studies seeks to provide such guidance, but as of yet there is no general agreement on what it means to take an integrated approach to the SDGs. Hence, navigating the diverse research landscape on SDG interactions might prove challenging. This paper aims to decipher the literature on SDG interactions by providing an overview of the current research, based on a sample of 70 peer-reviewed articles. The review explores four themes in SDG interaction research by mapping: (i) policy challenges typically addressed, (ii) ways in which SDG ‘interactions’ have been conceptualized, (iii) data sources used, and (iv) methods of analysis frequently employed. Research gaps are identified, where perspectives largely missing include policy innovation, and integrated monitoring and evaluation. Further, few studies consider actor interactions, account for geographic spill-overs, analyze SDG indicator interactions, employ participatory methods, or take a whole-systems approach to the 2030 Agenda. Failing to address these gaps could lead to inefficient SDG implementation and delay goal attainment. Another contribution of the paper is a reading guide, proposing a way to decipher the literature along the themes emerging from the review, and offering a structure to code future papers.
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| 2. |
- Bennich, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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Recurring patterns of SDG interlinkages and how they can advance the 2030 Agenda
- 2023
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Ingår i: One Earth. - : CELL PRESS. - 2590-3330 .- 2590-3322. ; 6:11, s. 1465-1476
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set a vision for a more sustainable world, to be realized by 2030. Progress to date is insufficient and implementation challenges are many, including the need for strategies that maximize synergies and mitigate trade-offs and conflicts among the goals. This scoping review synthesizes 51 recent scientific articles on interlinkages, with findings that can help decision-makers address this challenge. We identify recurring patterns of SDG interlinkages, including SDGs that promote other SDGs (e.g., SDGs 4, 6, and 17) and those at risk due to negative impacts from progress in other areas (e.g., SDGs 14 and 15). Such patterns can inform national and local implementation. Further research is needed to clarify the systemic roles of some SDGs (e.g., SDGs 10-12), understand causal relationships, and assess policy options. We make six recommendations for science to make interlinkages knowledge more accessible and for decision-makers to systematically use this knowledge.
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| 3. |
- Bennich, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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The Bio-Based Economy : Dynamics Governing Transition Pathways in the Swedish Forestry Sector
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 10:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A transition to a bio-based economy would entail change in coupled social-ecological systems. These systems are characterised by complexity, giving rise to potential unintended consequences and trade-offs caused by actions aiming to facilitate a transition process. Yet, many of the analyses to date have been focusing on single and predominantly technological aspects of the bio-based economy. The main contribution of our work is to the development of an integrated understanding of potential future transition pathways, with the present paper focusing specifically on terrestrial biological resources derived from the forestry sector in Sweden. Desired change processes identified include a transition to diversified forest management, a structural change in the forestry industry to enable high-value added production, and increased political support for the bio-based economy concept. Hindrances identified include the ability to demonstrate added values for end consumers of novel biomass applications, and uncertainty linked to a perceived high level of polarisation in the forestry debate. The results outline how these different processes are interrelated, allowing for the identification of high order leverage points and interventions to facilitate a transition to a bio-based economy.
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| 4. |
- Bennich, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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The bio-based economy, 2030 Agenda, and strong sustainability – A regional-scale assessment of sustainability goal interactions
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 283
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Policy-makers face the challenge of assessing and implementing sustainability measures, while also dealing with parallel and sometimes conflicting policy agendas, long-term policy impacts, and contested interpretations of sustainability. To support evidence-based decision-making in this context, this paper presents the results from an integrated assessment of sustainability goal interactions. Links between the bio-based economy, the 2030 Agenda, and the so-called strong sustainability paradigm were explored in a regional-scale case. The analysis focused primarily on developments in the forestry and energy sectors. Direct trade-offs and synergies as well as broader systemic impacts were identified. The results show how goals from the bio-based economy, 2030 Agenda and strong sustainability paradigm are mutually interacting. Positive interactions were found within two clusters of goals, offering coherent and synergetic transition pathways within these. The first cluster encompasses developments toward intensified forestry, renewable energy, and closed-loop production systems. The second pathway supports diversified forestry and protection of critical natural capital. However, while internally coherent, trade-offs were identified between these goal clusters, demonstrating the difficulty in simultaneously making progress on goals belonging to different sustainability agendas. The results also stress the need for disaggregation and long-term assessments to identify trade-offs and synergies. Finally, the analysis highlights the theoretical potential but practical challenges of implementing the bio-based economy and 2030 Agenda in a way that adheres to strong sustainability. The analytical framework used in the present study may be adapted and applied to other decision-making contexts. It is particularly useful in settings characterized by uncertainty and unstructured problem spaces.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Bennich, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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The Route to Sustainability-Prospects and Challenges of the Bio-Based Economy
- 2017
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 9:6
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The bio-based economy has been increasingly recognized in the sustainability debate over the last two decades, presented as a solution to a number of ecological and social challenges. Its premises include climate change mitigation, cleaner production processes, economic growth, and new employment opportunities. Yet, a transition to a bio-based economy is hampered by risk factors and uncertainties. In this paper, we explore the concept of a bio-based economy, focusing on opportunities of achieving sustainability, as well as challenges of a transition. Departing from an understanding of sustainability provided by the weak and strong sustainability paradigms, we first outline the definition and development of the bio-based economy from a theoretical perspective. Second, we use Sweden as an example of how a transition towards a bio-based economy has been evolving in practice. The review indicates that the proposed direction and strategies of the bio-based economy are promising, but sometimes contradictory, resulting in different views on the actions needed for its premises to be realized. Additionally, current developments adhere largely to the principles of the weak sustainability paradigm. In order for the bio-based economy to develop in accordance with the notion of strong sustainability, important steps to facilitate a transition would include acknowledging and addressing the trade-offs caused by biophysical and social limits to growth.
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| 7. |
- Bennich, Therese, 1989-
(författare)
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The transition to a bio-based economy : Toward an integrated understanding
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The bio-based economy has gained increasing attention in societal and academic debates over the past two decades, and is argued to hold solutions to several pressing sustainability challenges. However, it is not yet clear if the high-reaching aspirations of the bio-based economy can be realized. The bio-based economy discourse has been criticized for being promissory, vague, and single-sector focused, thereby overlooking larger systemic impacts, trade-offs, and unintended consequences that may result from pursuing the goals of the bio-based economy. Against this background, this thesis aims to advance an integrated and systemic understanding of the transition to a bio-based economy and what it implies for sustainability. Sweden is used as an empirical case, where specific bio-based economy goals, as well as their interactions and sustainability outcomes, are examined. The focus is primarily on developments in the forestry, agriculture, and energy sectors. The analysis also seeks to identify how goals related to the bio-based economy are interconnected with goals promoted by parallel sustainability initiatives, specifically the 2030 Agenda and the associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Integration is achieved by using systems analysis tools and methods. Further, the weak and strong sustainability paradigms, and the opposing definitions of sustainability they provide, are used to assess the contribution of the bio-based economy to sustainability. The integrated analysis provides a detailed and operational conceptualization of transition pathways to a Swedish bio-based economy. The goals of the Swedish bio-based economy are divergent and broad-reaching, emphasizing that there is no general agreement on what the transition to a bio-based economy entails. The results point to multiple barriers that need to be addressed to realize the goals of the Swedish bio-based economy. Goal conflicts constitute one such barrier. These are found internal to as well as across the bio-based economy and the parallel 2030 Agenda. Additional hindrances include policy resistance, negative cross-sectoral spillovers, and patterns of path dependency. However, the results also highlight several opportunities for supporting the transition process in a Swedish context. These opportunities include the identification of goals and interventions with synergetic potential, which offer a basis for developing efficient implementation strategies with high systemic impact. There is also large potential to support cross-sectoral collaboration and learning, based on shared interests and challenges. Finally, the results emphasize the importance of better understanding and addressing perceptions about risk, conflict, legitimacy, and trust in the transition process.In terms of the overarching question of what the bio-based economy implies for sustainability, the results find that the bio-based economy has been contributing to developments that align primarily with weak sustainability. From the perspective of the strong sustainability paradigm, the prospects of the bio-based economy are less promising, potentially leading to outcomes that could worsen ongoing environmental and social issues. For the future, fundamental changes to the way the bio-based economy is conceptualized and implemented are needed for it to contribute to sustainability according to the notion of strong sustainability.
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| 8. |
- Bennich, Therese, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding the Transition to a Bio-Based Economy : Exploring Dynamics Linked to the Agricultural Sector in Sweden
- 2018
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 10:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a growing interest in the bio-based economy, evident in the policy domain as well as in the academic literature. Its proponents consider it an opportunity to address multiple societal challenges, and the concept has broad reach across different sectors of society. However, a potential transition process is also linked to areas of risk and uncertainty, and the need for interdisciplinary research and for the identification of potential trade-offs and synergies between parallel visions of the bio-based economy have been emphasized. The aim of this paper is to contribute to addressing this gap by using an approach combining tools for systems analysis with expert interviews. Focusing specifically on dynamics in the agricultural sector in Sweden, an integrated understanding of the social and ecological processes contributing to or hindering a transition in this area is developed, high order leverage points are identified, and potential impacts of proposed interventions explored. The paper also considers cross-sectoral linkages between the forestry and agricultural sectors.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Weitz, Nina, et al.
(författare)
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Returning to core principles to advance the 2030 Agenda
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - : NATURE PORTFOLIO. - 2398-9629. ; 6, s. 1145-1148
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Principles underpinning the 2030 Agenda - indivisibility, integration and universality - can safeguard against inaction or unsustainable practices but have not yet come into effect. We propose measures to strengthen alignment with them as the world gears up to accelerate implementation at the 2023 SDG Summit.
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