1. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Assessing the Impact of Global Goals : Setting the Stage
- 2022
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In: The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals : Transforming Governance Through Global Goals? - Transforming Governance Through Global Goals?. - : Cambridge University Press. - 9781316514290 - 9781009082945 ; , s. 1-21
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly agreed on the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development to guide public policies and inspire societal actors topromote sustainable development worldwide. The core of this programme are 17‘Sustainable Development Goals’ with 169 more specific targets. Two years ofintense intergovernmental negotiations at the United Nations headquarters in NewYork preceded the adoption of this agenda, which formally entered into force on1 January 2016. The programmatic timespan is short: the goals and targets under the new agenda for sustainable development should be achieved by 2030. Some targets were to be reached even by 2020.
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2. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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The Sustainable Development Goals as a Transformative Force? : Key Insights
- 2022
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In: The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals : Transforming Governance Through Global Goals? - Transforming Governance Through Global Goals?. - : Cambridge University Press. - 9781316514290 - 9781009082945 ; , s. 204-226
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The scope of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SustainableDevelopment Goals is unprecedented. So is the broad ambition expressed in thisagreement. While the United Nations has rarely shied away from declaring farreaching policy aspirations in the past, the 2030 Agenda sets the bar high –possibly higher than it has ever been before, with ambitious goals to end hungerand poverty while simultaneously reducing unsustainable consumption andprotecting the natural foundations of life on earth. The Sustainable DevelopmentGoals also add new areas of policy ambition that have not been promoted in thisform before, such as reducing global and national inequalities or promoting goodgovernance, both now enshrined as stand-alone global policy goals.
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3. |
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Anthropocene Encounters : New Directions in Green Political Thinking
- 2019
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Editorial collection (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Coined barely two decades ago, the Anthropocene has become one of the most influential and controversial terms in environmental policy. Yet it remains an ambivalent and contested formulation, giving rise to a multitude of unexpected, and often uncomfortable, conversations. This book traces in detail a broad variety of such 'Anthropocene encounters': in science, philosophy and literary fiction. It asks what it means to 'think green' in a time when nature no longer offers a stable backdrop to political analysis. Do familiar political categories and concepts, such as democracy, justice, power and time, hold when confronted with a world radically transformed by humans? The book responds by inviting more radical political thought, plural forms of engagement, and extended ethical commitments, making it a fascinating and timely volume for graduate students and researchers working in earth system governance, environmental politics and studies of the Anthropocene.
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4. |
- Bai, Xuemei, et al.
(author)
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Plausible and desirable futures in the Anthropocene : A new research agenda
- 2016
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In: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 39, s. 351-362
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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5. |
- Bennett, Elena M., et al.
(author)
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Bright spots : seeds of a good Anthropocene
- 2016
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In: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. - : Wiley. - 1540-9295 .- 1540-9309. ; 14:8, s. 441-448
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The scale, rate, and intensity of humans' environmental impact has engendered broad discussion about how to find plausible pathways of development that hold the most promise for fostering a better future in the Anthropocene. However, the dominance of dystopian visions of irreversible environmental degradation and societal collapse, along with overly optimistic utopias and business-as-usual scenarios that lack insight and innovation, frustrate progress. Here, we present a novel approach to thinking about the future that builds on experiences drawn from a diversity of practices, worldviews, values, and regions that could accelerate the adoption of pathways to transformative change (change that goes beyond incremental improvements). Using an analysis of 100 initiatives, or seeds of a good Anthropocene, we find that emphasizing hopeful elements of existing practice offers the opportunity to: (1) understand the values and features that constitute a good Anthropocene, (2) determine the processes that lead to the emergence and growth of initiatives that fundamentally change human-environmental relationships, and (3) generate creative, bottom-up scenarios that feature well-articulated pathways toward a more positive future.
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6. |
- Bergamaschi, Peter, et al.
(author)
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European Obspack compilation of atmospheric carbon dioxide data from ICOS and non-ICOS European stations for the period 1972-2023; : obspack_co2_466_GLOBALVIEWplus_v8.0_2023-04-26
- 2023
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This data package contains high accuracy CO2 dry air mole fractions from 58 ICOS and non-ICOS European observatories at in total 132 observation levels, collected by the ICOS Atmosphere Thematic Centre (ATC) and provided by the station contributors. The package is part of the Globalviewplus v8.0 data product, released in 2022 and is intended for use in carbon cycle inverse modeling, model evaluation, and satellite validation studies. Please report errors and send comments regarding this product to the ObsPack originators. Please read carefully the ObsPack Fair Use statement and cite appropriately. This is the sixth release of the GLOBALVIEWplus (GV+) cooperative data product. Please review the release notes for this product at www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/obspack/release_notes.html. Metadata for this product are available at https://commons.datacite.org/doi.org/10.18160/CEC4-CAGK. Please visit http://www.gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/obspack/ for more information.
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7. |
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8. |
- Biermann, Frank
(author)
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Curtain down and nothing settled: global sustainability governance after the 'Rio+20' Earth Summit
- 2013
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In: Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy. - : SAGE Publications. - 1472-3425 .- 0263-774X. ; 31:6, s. 1099-1114
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, was probably the largest event in a long series of megasummits on environmental protection and sustainable development. Roughly 44 000 participants descended on Rio de Janeiro to take part in ten days of preparatory committee meetings, informal consultations, side events, and the actual conference. Yet despite this unprecedented high attendance by participants from governments and civil society, the outcome of the conference is less than many had hoped for. In this paper I review the outcomes of the 2012 Rio conference in detail, with a special focus on its contributions towards the reform of the institutional framework for sustainable development. Following this review, I discuss the way ahead and options for structural reform to restrengthen earth system governance.
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9. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Down to Earth : Contextualizing the Anthropocene
- 2016
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In: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780. ; 39, s. 341-350
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ‘Anthropocene’ is now being used as a conceptual frame by different communities and in a variety of contexts to understand the evolving human–environment relationship. However, as we argue in this paper, the notion of an Anthropos, or ‘humanity’, as global, unified ‘geological force’ threatens to mask the diversity and differences in the actual conditions and impacts of humankind, and does not do justice to the diversity of local and regional contexts. For this reason, we interpret in this article the notion of an Anthropocene in a more context-dependent, localized and social understanding. We do this through illustrating examples from four issue domains, selected for their variation in terms of spatial and temporal scale, systems of governance and functional interdependencies: nitrogen cycle distortion (in particular as it relates to food security); ocean acidification; urbanization; and wildfires. Based on this analysis, we systematically address the consequences of the lens of the Anthropocene for the governance of social-ecological systems, focusing on the multi-level, functional and sectoral organization of governance, and possible redefinitions of governance systems and policy domains. We conclude that the notion of the Anthropocene, once seen in light of social inequalities and regional differences, allows for novel analysis of issue-based problems in the context of a global understanding, in both academic and political terms. This makes it a useful concept to help leverage and (re-)focus our efforts in a more innovative and effective way to transition towards sustainability.
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10. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
-
Earth system governance: a research framework
- 2010
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In: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-1553 .- 1567-9764. ; 10:4, s. 277-298
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Earth System Science Partnership, which unites all major global change research programmes, declared in 2001 an urgent need to develop "strategies for Earth System management". Yet what such strategies might be, how they could be developed, and how effective, efficient and equitable such strategies would be, remains unspecified. It is apparent that the institutions, organizations and mechanisms by which humans currently govern their relationship with the natural environment and global biochemical systems are not only insufficient-they are also poorly understood. This article presents the science programme of the Earth System Governance Project, a new 10-year global research effort endorsed by the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP). It outlines the concept of earth system governance as a challenge for the social sciences, and it elaborates on the interlinked analytical problems and research questions of earth system governance as an object of study. These analytical problems concern the overall architecture of earth system governance, agency beyond the state and of the state, the adaptiveness of governance mechanisms and processes as well as their accountability and legitimacy, and modes of allocation and access in earth system governance. The article also outlines four crosscutting research themes that are crucial for the study of each analytical problem as well as for the integrated understanding of earth system governance: the role of power, knowledge, norms and scale.
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11. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Four governance reforms to strengthen the SDGs : A demanding policy vision can accelerate global sustainable development efforts
- 2023
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In: Science (New York, N.Y.). - 1095-9203. ; 381:6663, s. 1159-1160
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2015, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Although the SDGs, which are to be achieved by 2030, are not the first attempt to guide policy actors through global goals, they go far beyond earlier agreements in their detail, comprehensiveness, and ambition. Yet the 2022 SDG Impact Assessment, conducted by a global consortium of researchers, has shown that the first phase of SDG implementation did not lead to a transformative reorientation of political systems and societies (1, 2). As the UN SDG Summit gets underway this month to review the halfway point in SDG implementation, and a further UN “Summit of the Future” is planned for 2024 to debate global governance reforms, we present here a demanding yet realistic policy vision to adjust the course of SDG implementation.
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12. |
- Biermann, Frank
(author)
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Planetary boundaries and earth system governance: Exploring the links
- 2012
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In: Ecological Economics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0921-8009. ; 81, s. 4-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This article discusses the concept of planetary boundaries that has been advanced by a group of leading experts around Johan Rockstrom. I place the concept of planetary boundaries in the larger framework of the emerging research paradigm of earth system governance, welcoming it as a crucial contribution that defines the overall goals of governance. Yet I also elaborate on the political conflicts that surround the identification of planetary boundaries, which are, in the end, a social construct. I then explore the policy and governance responses that may follow from the planetary boundary approach. In the conclusion, I point to several research challenges that flow from the current state of knowledge on planetary boundaries. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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13. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Rich man’s solution? Climate engineering discourses and the marginalization of the Global South
- 2019
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In: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1567-9764 .- 1573-1553. ; 19:2, s. 151-167
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Numerous recent studies project that ‘climate engineering’ technologies might need to play a major role in the future. Such technologies may carry major risks for developing countries that are often especially vulnerable to, and lack adaptive capacity to deal with, the impacts of such new technologies. In this situation, one would expect that developing countries—especially the least developed countries that are most vulnerable—should play a central role in the emerging discourse on climate engineering. And yet, as this article shows in detail, the discussion about whether and how to engage with these technologies is shaped by experts from just a small set of countries in the Global North. Knowledge production around climate engineering remains heavily dominated by the major research institutions in North America and Europe. Drawing on information from 70 climate engineering events between 2009 and 2017 along with extensive document analysis, the article maps a lack of involvement of developing countries and highlights the degree to which their concerns remain insufficiently represented in politically significant scientific assessment reports. The article concludes by sketching options that developing countries may have to influence the agenda on climate engineering, reflecting on earlier attempts to increase control over novel technologies and influence global agenda setting.
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14. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Scientific evidence on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals
- 2022
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In: Nature Sustainability. - : Springer Nature. - 2398-9629. ; 5:9, s. 795-800
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In 2015, the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals as the central normative framework for sustainable development worldwide. The effectiveness of governing by such broad global goals, however, remains uncertain, and we lack comprehensive meta-studies that assess the political impact of the goals across countries and globally. We present here condensed evidence from an analysis of over 3,000 scientific studies on the Sustainable Development Goals published between 2016 and April 2021. Our findings suggests that the goals have had some political impact on institutions and policies, from local to global governance. This impact has been largely discursive, affecting the way actors understand and communicate about sustainable development. More profound normative and institutional impact, from legislative action to changing resource allocation, remains rare. We conclude that the scientific evidence suggests only limited transformative political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals thus far.
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15. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Solar geoengineering : The case for an international non‐use agreement
- 2022
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In: Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. - : Wiley. - 1757-7780 .- 1757-7799. ; 13:3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Solar geoengineering is gaining prominence in climate change debates as an issue worth studying; for some it is even a potential future policy option. We argue here against this increasing normalization of solar geoengineering as a speculative part of the climate policy portfolio. We contend, in particular, that solar geoengineering at planetary scale is not governable in a globally inclusive and just manner within the current international political system. We therefore call upon governments and the United Nations to take immediate and effective political control over the development of solar geoengineering technologies. Specifically, we advocate for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering and outline the core elements of this proposal.
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16. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Special Issue: "Earth System Governance"
- 2010
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In: International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-1553 .- 1567-9764. ; 10:4, s. 273-276
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)
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17. |
- Biermann, Frank, et al.
(author)
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Transforming governance and institutions for global sustainability : key insights from the Earth System Governance Project
- 2012
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In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 4:1, s. 51-60
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The current institutional framework for sustainable development is by far not strong enough to bring about the swift transformative progress that is needed. This article contends that incrementalism-the main approach since the 1972 Stockholm Conference-will not suffice to bring about societal change at the level and speed needed to mitigate and adapt to earth system transformation. Instead, the article argues that transformative structural change in global governance is needed, and that the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro must turn into a major stepping stone for a much stronger institutional framework for sustainable development. The article details core areas where urgent action is required. The article is based on an extensive social science assessment conducted by 32 members of the lead faculty, scientific steering committee, and other affiliates of the Earth System Governance Project. This Project is a ten-year research initiative under the auspices of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), which is sponsored by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), and the United Nations University (UNU).
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18. |
- Brondizio, Eduardo S., et al.
(author)
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Re-conceptualizing the Anthropocene : A call for collaboration
- 2016
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In: Global Environmental Change. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-3780 .- 1872-9495. ; 39, s. 318-327
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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19. |
- Galaz, Victor, et al.
(author)
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Planetary Boundaries - Exploring the Challenges for Global Environmental Governance
- 2011
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- A range of studies from Earth system scientists argue that human activities drives multiple, interacting effects that cascade through the Earth system. Recent contributions state and quantify nine, interacting «planetary boundaries» with possible threshold effects. This article provides an overview of the Earth system governance challenges that follow from this notion of multiple, interacting and possibly non-linear «planetary boundaries». Here we discuss four interrelated global governance challenges, as well as some possible ways to address them in future research. The four identified challenges are related to 1) the interplay between Earth system science and global policies; 2) the capacity of international institutions to deal with individual planetary boundaries, as well as interactions between them; 3) the role of international organizations in dealing with planetary boundaries interactions; and 4) the role of Earth system governance in framing social-ecological innovations.
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20. |
- Galaz, Victor, et al.
(author)
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'Planetary boundaries' - exploring the challenges for global environmental governance
- 2012
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In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3435 .- 1877-3443. ; 4:1, s. 80-87
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A range of studies from Earth system scientists argue that human activities drive multiple, interacting effects that cascade through the Earth system. Recent contributions state and quantify nine, interacting 'planetary boundaries' with possible threshold effects. This article provides an overview of the global governance challenges that follow from this notion of multiple, interacting and possibly non-linear 'planetary boundaries'. Here we discuss four interrelated global environmental governance challenges, as well as some possible ways to address them. The four identified challenges are related to, first, the interplay between Earth system science and global policies, and the implications of differences in risk perceptions in defining these boundaries; second, the capacity of international institutions to deal with individual 'planetary boundaries', as well as interactions between them; third, the role of international organizations in dealing with 'planetary boundaries' interactions; and fourth, the role of global governance in framing social ecological innovations.
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21. |
- Habtezion, Senay, et al.
(author)
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Earth System Governance in Africa: knowledge and capacity needs
- 2015
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In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-3443 .- 1877-3435. ; 14, s. 198-205
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Traditional approaches for understanding environmental governance - such as environmental policy analysis or natural resources management - do not adequately address the gamut of human-natural system interactions within the context of the complex biogeophysical cycles and processes of the planet. This is perhaps more so in the African regional context where the complex relationships between modern and traditional governance systems and global change dynamics are arguably more pronounced. The Earth System Governance (ESG) Analytical Framework encompasses diverse systems and actors involved in the regulation of societal activities and behaviors vis-a-vis earth system dynamics. The concept encompasses a myriad of public and private actors and actor networks at all levels of policy and decision-making. The existence of, and interaction among, these diverse actors and systems, however, is under-researched in the African context. Various research approaches taken to address crucial global environmental change (GEC) challenges in Africa have proven to be inadequate because they tend to overlook the complex interactions among the various local actors, players, and indigenous conditions and practices vis-a-vis GEC system drivers and teleconnections. Similarly, the regional peculiarities in terms of governance typologies and sociocultural diversity highlight the need for nuanced understanding of the complex interactions and nexuses among multiple actors and interests and Earth system processes. However, this diversity and complexity has often been lost in generalized enquiries. We argue that examination of the governance-GEC nexus through the aid of the ESG Framework would provide a much broader and more helpful insight.
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22. |
- Hickmann, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Exploring Global Climate Policy Futures and Their Representation in Integrated Assessment Models
- 2022
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In: Politics and Governance. - : Cogitatio. - 2183-2463. ; 10:3, s. 171-185
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, paved the way for a new hybrid global climate governance architecture with both bottom-up and top-down elements. While governments can choose individual climate goals and actions, a global stocktake and a ratcheting-up mechanism have been put in place with the overall aim to ensure that collective efforts will prevent increasing adverse impacts of climate change. Integrated assessment models show that current combined climate commitments and policies of national governments fall short of keeping global warming to 1.5 °C or 2 °C above preindustrial levels. Although major greenhouse gas emitters, such as China, the European Union, India, the United States under the Biden administration, and several other countries, have made new pledges to take more ambitious climate action, it is highly uncertain where global climate policy is heading. Scenarios in line with long-term temperature targets typically assume a simplistic and hardly realistic level of harmonization of climate policies across countries. Against this backdrop, this article develops four archetypes for the further evolution of the global climate governance architecture and matches them with existing sets of scenarios developed by integrated assessment models. By these means, the article identifies knowledge gaps in the current scenario literature and discusses possible research avenues to explore the pre-conditions for successful coordination of national policies towards achieving the long-term target stipulated in the Paris Agreement.
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23. |
- Hickmann, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Institutional Interlinkages
- 2020
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In: Architectures of Earth System Governance : Institutional Complexity and Structural Transformation - Institutional Complexity and Structural Transformation. - : Cambridge University Press. - 9781108489515 - 9781108784641 ; , s. 119-136
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Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Given the regulatory gap in earth system governance, numerous new governance initiatives, such as multilateral clubs, private certification schemes and multi-stakeholder forums, have emerged to tackle transboundary environmental challenges. This plethora of different governance initiatives has led to a significant increase in the institutional complexity of global (environmental) policymaking and to more interlinkages between such institutions. Chapter 6 perceives dyadic institutional interlinkages as a key ‘microscopic’ structural feature of the overall global governance landscape and most basic building blocks or units of analysis in current scholarship on global governance architectures. After defining the term institutional interlinkages, we synthesize the literature on institutional interlinkages with a particular view on the expansion of interlinkages across different governance levels and scales. Against this backdrop, we examine to what extent the existing concepts and typologies of institutional interlinkages can capture the various new interlinkages between different kinds of institutions in earth system governance.
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24. |
- Hickmann, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Scoping article : research frontiers on the governance of the Sustainable Development Goals
- 2024
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In: Global Sustainability. - 2059-4798. ; 7
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Non-Technical SummaryThis article takes stock of the 2030 Agenda and focuses on five governance areas. In a nutshell, we see a quite patchy and often primarily symbolic uptake of the global goals. Although some studies highlight individual success stories of actors and institutions to implement the goals, it remains unclear how such cases can be upscaled and develop a broader political impact to accelerate the global endeavor to achieve sustainable development. We hence raise concerns about the overall effectiveness of governance by goal-setting and raise the question of how we can make this mode of governance more effective.Technical SummaryA recent meta-analysis on the political impact of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has shown that these global goals are moving political processes forward only incrementally, with much variation across countries, sectors, and governance levels. Consequently, the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains uncertain. Against this backdrop, this article explores where and how incremental political changes are taking place due to the SDGs, and under what conditions these developments can bolster sustainability transformations up to 2030 and beyond. Our scoping review builds upon an online expert survey directed at the scholarly community of the 'Earth System Governance Project' and structured dialogues within the 'Taskforce on the SDGs' under this project. We identified five governance areas where some effects of the SDGs have been observable: (1) global governance, (2) national policy integration, (3) subnational initiatives, (4) private governance, and (5) education and learning for sustainable development. This article delves deeper into these governance areas and draws lessons to guide empirical research on the promises and pitfalls of accelerating SDG implementation.Social Media SummaryAs SDG implementation lags behind, this article explores 5 governance areas asking how to strengthen the global goals.
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25. |
- Hickmann, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Success factors of global goal-setting for sustainable development : Learning from the Millennium Development Goals
- 2023
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In: Sustainable Development. - : Wiley. - 0968-0802 .- 1099-1719. ; 31:3, s. 1214-1225
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were an important precursor to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, identifying the conditions that made the MDGs successful enhances our understanding of global goal-setting and informs the global endeavour to achieve the SDGs. Drawing on a comprehensive review of 316 articles published between 2009 and 2018, we identify six factors that have enabled or hindered MDG implementation. Our analysis stresses the importance of path dependencies and shows that the MDGs catalysed changes only for those countries with sufficient resource availability, administrative capacity and economic development, as well as adequate support from external donors. National ownership and NGO pressure bolstered efforts to implement the MDGs. These findings suggest that globally agreed goals do not easily trickle down from the global to the national level. Thus, this article adopts a forward-looking perspective and draws key lessons for the current implementation of the SDGs in developing countries.
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