| 1. |
- Andersson, Elias, et al.
(författare)
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Adaptation to climate change? : Why business-as-usual remains the logical choice in Swedish forestry
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 48, s. 76-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The two latest IPCC assessment reports have concluded that knowledge is not sufficient for inducing action on climate change. This study problematizes the issue of going beyond business-as-usual through a study of the forestry sector in Sweden, which is a large economic sector and could be expected to be an early adapter, given that newly planted forest may stand some 70-90 years into the future. Therefore resources, economic motivation in the longer term and environmental foundations for early adaptation action could be expected to exist. This study draws upon the Foucauldian conceptualization of governmentality to explain the particular institutional logics that nevertheless lead to business-as-usual arguments dominating discussion on adaptation in the case of Swedish forestry. The study emphasizes that adaptation must be seen as steered and limited by existing institutional, social system logics, rather than by externally defined "rational" motivations. Efforts on adaptation to climate change must thus be considered in relation to, and seek to change, existing institutionally based motivational and incentive structures, and must thus be conceived through social rather than environmental logics. In fact, social logics may even define the types of actions that may be regarded as adaptations.
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| 2. |
- Bai, Xuemei, et al.
(författare)
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Plausible and desirable futures in the Anthropocene : A new research agenda
- 2016
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 39, s. 351-362
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the concept of the Anthropocene reflects the past and present nature, scale and magnitude of human impacts on the Earth System, its true significance lies in how it can be used to guide attitudes, choices, policies and actions that influence the future. Yet, to date much of the research on the Anthropocene has focused on interpreting past and present changes, while saying little about the future. Likewise, many futures studies have been insufficiently rooted in an understanding of past changes, in particular the long-term co-evolution of bio-physical and human systems. The Anthropocene perspective is one that encapsulates a world of intertwined drivers, complex dynamic structures, emergent phenomena and unintended consequences, manifest across different scales and within interlinked biophysical constraints and social conditions. In this paper we discuss the changing role of science and the theoretical, methodological and analytical challenges in considering futures of the Anthropocene. We present three broad groups of research questions on: (1) societal goals for the future; (2) major trends and dynamics that might favor or hinder them; (3) and factors that might propel or impede transformations towards desirable futures. Tackling these questions requires the development of novel approaches integrating natural and social sciences as well as the humanities beyond what is current today. We present three examples, one from each group of questions, illustrating how science might contribute to the identification of desirable and plausible futures and pave the way for transformations towards them. We argue that it is time for debates on the sustainability of the Anthropocene to focus on opportunities for realizing desirable and plausible futures.
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| 3. |
- Bodin, Örjan, et al.
(författare)
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Formation and performance of collaborative disaster management networks : Evidence from a Swedish wildfire response
- 2016
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 41, s. 183-194
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Natural disasters present a multitude of entangled societal challenges beyond the realms and capacities of single actors. Prior research confirms that effective collaboration is of critical significance to address such complex collective action problems. Yet, studies rarely investigate if patterns of collaboration are appropriately aligned ('fit') with how different challenges (tasks) are interdependent, or how levels of fit influence collective action performance. We develop a set of hypotheses specifying what constitutes a good fit between collaborative networks and task interdependency. Using unique empirical data from the response to a major wildfire in Sweden, we examine how individual actors select collaboration partners and tasks during the formation the collaborative crisis response network. Then we test if levels of fit in the established network influence performance. We show that patterns of actor and task interdependency influence the formation of collaborative networks and that a good fit seems to be associated with more effective collaboration. Our data even suggest that a good fit is more important for performance than actors' prior crisis management experience and level of professionalization. Further, we show that actors only partially engage in actor-task configurations conducive to high performance. Our study probes the limitations of simplified accounts of collaborative disaster management by enabling more precise and theoretically informed empirical inquiries regarding the mechanisms that shape the structure and performance of collaborative networks.
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| 4. |
- Brondizio, Eduardo S., et al.
(författare)
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Re-conceptualizing the Anthropocene : A call for collaboration
- 2016
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 39, s. 318-327
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since it was first proposed in 2000, the concept of the Anthropocene has evolved in breadth and diversely. The concept encapsulates the new and unprecedented planetary-scale changes resulting from societal transformations and has brought to the fore the social drivers of global change. The concept has revealed tensions between generalized interpretations of humanity's contribution to global change, and interpretations that are historically, politically and culturally situated. It motivates deep ethical questions about the politics and economics of global change, including diverse interpretations of past causes and future possibilities. As such, more than other concepts, the Anthropocene concept has brought front-and center epistemological divides between and within the natural and social sciences, and the humanities. It has also brought new opportunities for collaboration. Here we explore the potential and challenges of the concept to encourage integrative understandings of global change and sustainability. Based on bibliometric analysis and literature review, we discuss the now wide acceptance of the term, its interpretive flexibility, the emerging narratives as well as the debates the concept has inspired. We argue that without truly collaborative and integrative research, many of the critical exchanges around the concept are likely to perpetuate fragmented research agendas and to reinforce disciplinary boundaries. This means appreciating the strengths and limitations of different knowledge domains, approaches and perspectives, with the concept of the Anthropocene serving as a bridge, which we encourage researchers and others to cross. This calls for institutional arrangements that facilitate collaborative research, training, and action, yet also depends on more robust and sustained funding for such activities. To illustrate, we briefly discuss three overarching global change problems where novel types of collaborative research could make a difference: (1) Emergent properties of socioecological systems; (2) Urbanization and resource nexus; and (3) Systemic risks and tipping points. Creative tensions around the Anthropocene concept can help the research community to move toward new conceptual syntheses and integrative action-oriented approaches that are needed to producing useful knowledge commensurable with the challenges of global change and sustainability.
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| 5. |
- Busse Nielsen, Anders
(författare)
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Beyond green: Broad support for biodiversity in multicultural European cities
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 49, s. 35-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While urban growth contributes to the biodiversity crisis, biodiverse greenspaces within cities could support both human wellbeing and biodiversity conservation. Yet, urban greenspaces are under pressure due to the rapid densification of cities worldwide. Urban conservation policies thus need broad support, ideally from people with different sociocultural backgrounds. Whether urban residents prefer biodiverse over simply green spaces, however, largely remains an open question. We tested how diverse respondents (N = 3716) from five European cities valued three levels of biodiversity (plant species richness) in four ubiquitous greenspace types. Our field survey revealed that biodiversity matters: People largely prefer higher plant species richness in urban greenspaces (i.e., parks, wastelands, streetscapes) and agree that higher plant species richness allows for more liveable cities. Despite variation across European cities, positive valuations of high plant species richness prevailed among different sociocultural groups, including people of migrant background. The results of this study can thus support policies on a biodiversity-friendly development and management of urban greenspaces by highlighting social arguments for integrating biodiversity into urban development plans.
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| 6. |
- Crona, Beatrice I., et al.
(författare)
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Using social-ecological syndromes to understand impacts of international seafood trade on small-scale fisheries
- 2015
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 35, s. 162-175
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globalization has increased the speed and flow of people, information, and commodities across space, integrating markets and increasing interdependence of geographically dispersed places worldwide. Places historically driven by largely local forces and market demands are now increasingly affected by drivers at multiple scales. Trade is particularly important in driving these changes and more fish is now exported to international markets than ever before. When small-scale fisheries are integrated into global markets, local social-ecological systems change with potentially both positive and negative impacts on livelihoods, economics and ecology, but few studies systematically investigate how and why the outcomes of market integration vary from case to case. This paper systematically assesses multiple (social, ecological, economic and institutional) local effects of market integration in cases around the world by drawing on the global environmental change syndromes approach. Furthermore, we examine the factors contributing to the syndromes observed. Our analysis identifies three distinct social-ecological syndromes associated with international seafood trade. Results suggest that the presence of strong and well-enforced institutions is the principal factor behind the syndrome characterized by sustained fish stocks, while a combination of weak institutions, patron-client relationships, high demand from China and highly vulnerable target species explain the other two syndromes distinguished by declining stocks, conflict and debt among fishers. A key finding is that the factors emerging as important for explaining the different syndromes derive from different scales (e.g. local market structures vs distant market characteristics), indicating a need for multi-level governance approaches to deal with the effects of market integration. Furthermore, the meta-analysis shows that each syndrome encompasses fisheries from multiple continents. This suggests that the increasingly global nature of the seafood trade appears to be driving local dynamics by creating similar conditions for vulnerabilities in localities around the world, lending support to the notion of teleconnectivity across geographic space.
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| 7. |
- Ellison, David, et al.
(författare)
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Trees, forests and water : Cool insights for a hot world
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 43, s. 51-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Forest-driven water and energy cycles are poorly integrated into regional, national, continental and global decision-making on climate change adaptation, mitigation, land use and water management. This constrains humanity's ability to protect our planet's climate and life-sustaining functions. The substantial body of research we review reveals that forest, water and energy interactions provide the foundations for carbon storage, for cooling terrestrial surfaces and for distributing water resources. Forests and trees must be recognized as prime regulators within the water, energy and carbon cycles. If these functions are ignored, planners will be unable to assess, adapt to or mitigate the impacts of changing land cover and climate. Our call to action targets a reversal of paradigms, from a carbon-centric model to one that treats the hydrologic and climate-cooling effects of trees and forests as the first order of priority. For reasons of sustainability, carbon storage must remain a secondary, though valuable, by-product. The effects of tree cover on climate at local, regional and continental scales offer benefits that demand wider recognition. The forest- and tree-centered research insights we review and analyze provide a knowledge-base for improving plans, policies and actions. Our understanding of how trees and forests influence water, energy and carbon cycles has important implications, both for the structure of planning, management and governance institutions, as well as for how trees and forests might be used to improve sustainability, adaptation and mitigation efforts.
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| 8. |
- Eriksson, Hampus, et al.
(författare)
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An ecosystem approach to small-scale fisheries through participatory diagnosis in four tropical countries
- 2016
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 36, s. 56-66
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Participatory diagnosis is an approach to identify, prioritize and mobilise around factors that constrain or enable effective governance and management in small-scale fisheries. Diagnostic frameworks are mostly designed and used for systematic scientific analysis or impact evaluation. Through participation they also have potential to guide contextually informed improvements to management in practice, including transitions to contemporary forms of governance like the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF) the focus of our study. We document and critically reflect on participatory diagnosis processes and outcomes at sites in Indonesia, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Tanzania. These sites were part of an international project on the implementation of the EAF and differed widely in institutional and operational contexts. The Participatory Diagnosis and Adaptive Management framework and the issue radar diagnosis map were used to identify, evaluate and address factors associated with navigating management transitions towards the EAF. We found that many challenges and priority actions identified by participants were similar across the four study countries. Participants emphasized habitat restoration, particularly mangrove rehabilitation, and livelihood enhancement. The importance of strengthening governance entities, networks and processes (e.g., harmonization of policies, education and awareness of policies) was also a prominent outcome of the diagnosis. Site-specific factors were also explored together with the differing views among stakeholders. We conclude that diagnosis frameworks are indeed useful tools for guiding management transitions in fisheries, particularly where they enable flexibility in approaches to diagnosing problems and applying solutions to local contexts.
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| 9. |
- Fairbrother, Malcolm, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Political trust and the relationship between climate change beliefs and support for fossil fuel taxes : Evidence from a survey of 23 European countries
- 2019
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 59
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Taxes on fossil fuels could be a useful policy tool for governments seeking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, such taxes are politically challenging to introduce, as public opinion is usually hostile to them. Prior studies have found that attitudes toward carbon and other environmental taxes reflect not just people's beliefs and concerns about the problems these taxes address, but also their trust in their country's politicians and political system. Using multilevel models fitted to data collected in 2016 on 42,401 individuals in 23 European countries, we show for the first time that these two factors interact. Among Europeans who distrust their country's politicians, political parties, and parliament, or who live in countries with low levels of political trust, being aware and concerned about climate change is at most weakly associated with support for taxes on fossil fuels. Europeans with high political trust, on the other hand, tend to be much more supportive of fossil fuel taxes if they also believe in the reality and dangers of anthropogenic climate change. Cross-nationally, the nations whose populations are most supportive of higher taxes on fossil fuels are not those that are more aware and concerned about climate change; rather, they are those with the highest levels of political trust.
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| 10. |
- Galaz, Victor, et al.
(författare)
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Finance and the Earth system – Exploring the links between financial actors and non-linear changes in the climate system
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 53, s. 296-302
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Financial actors and capital play a key role in extractive economic activities around the world, as well as in current efforts to avoid dangerous climate change. Here, in contrast to standard approaches in finance, sustainability and climate change, we elaborate in what ways financial actors affect key biomes around the world, and through this known “tipping elements” in the Earth system. We combine Earth system and sustainability sciences with corporate finance to develop a methodology that allows us to link financial actors to economic activities modifying biomes of key importance for stabilizing Earth's climate system. Our analysis of key owners of companies operating in the Amazon rainforest (Brazil) and boreal forests (Russia and Canada) identifies a small set of international financial actors with considerable, but as of yet unrealized, globally spanning influence. We denote these “Financial Giants” and elaborate how incentives and disincentives currently influence their potential to bolster or undermine the stability of the Earth's climate system.
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