Earth system governance

Applying the existing earth system governance (ESG) framework[1] to the challenge of understanding and analysing transformations towards sustainability.[2]

Earth system governance (or earth systems governance) is a broad area of scholarly inquiry that builds on earlier notions of environmental policy and nature conservation, but puts these into the broader context of human-induced transformations of the entire earth system. The integrative paradigm of earth system governance (ESG) has evolved into an active research area that brings together a variety of disciplines including political science, sociology, economics, ecology, policy studies, geography, sustainability science, and law.[3]

ESG research can be carried out under a conceptual framework of five analytical problems which are all highly interlinked.[4][1] These analytical problems are "problems of the overall architecture of ESG, of agency beyond the state and of the state, of the adaptiveness of governance mechanisms and processes, of their accountability and legitimacy and of modes of allocation and access in ESG".[4] They share at least four cross-cutting themes which are "power, knowledge, norms and scale".

ESG is not simply about the global level but all levels are relevant. Therefore, researchers study sustainability challenges at local, national and global levels. The ESG research community focuses on the study of formal rules and institutions, which include laws, public regulations and policies set by national or local governments and international organizations to address global and local sustainability problems. The network also examines informal rules and practices, such as unwritten norms and societal behaviors. Additionally, the community explores actor networks, such as relationships and interactions among various stakeholders such as governments, NGOs, and civil society.[5]

Example applications of ESG include topics around planetary justice, climate governance, ocean governance. For example in the context of ocean governance, research in ESG helps to address governance-related needs of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.[6] There are fundamental research questions regarding ocean science for sustainable development, namely “who gets what?” (justice and allocation), “who gets to decide?” (democracy and power), “how are current systems maintained?” (architecture and agency), and “how do these systems change?” (in the present: agency, adaptiveness and reflexivity; and in the future: anticipation and imagination).[7] Another example are international treaties: Social science research on ESG can offer insights on the factors that have promoted successful negotiation, design, and implementation of international environmental agreements such as the High Seas Treaty.[8]

Hundreds of scholars who are interested in ESG research have joined forces within the Earth System Governance Project, a large research network and interdisciplinary social science research alliance which began in 2009.[9]

  1. ^ a b Biermann, Frank, Michele M. Betsill, Joyeeta Gupta, Norichika Kanie, Louis Lebel, Diana Liverman, Heike Schroeder, and Bernd Siebenhüner, with contributions from Ken Conca, Leila da Costa Ferreira, Bharat Desai, Simon Tay, and Ruben Zondervan (2009) Earth System Governance: People, Places and the Planet. Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project. Earth System Governance Report 1 (first science plan), IHDP Report 20. Bonn, IHDP: The Earth System Governance Project.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :22 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kotzé, Louis J.; Kim, Rakhyun E. (2019). "Earth system law: The juridical dimensions of earth system governance". Earth System Governance. 1: 100003. Bibcode:2019ESGov...100003K. doi:10.1016/j.esg.2019.100003. ISSN 2589-8116.
  4. ^ a b Biermann, Frank; Betsill, Michele M; Vieira, Susana Camargo; Gupta, Joyeeta; Kanie, Norichika; Lebel, Louis; Liverman, Diana; Schroeder, Heike; Siebenhüner, Bernd; Yanda, Pius Z; Zondervan, Ruben (2010). "Navigating the anthropocene: the Earth System Governance Project strategy paper". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 2 (3): 202–208. Bibcode:2010COES....2..202B. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2010.04.005.
  5. ^ Sarah Burch, Aarti Gupta, Cristina Yumie Aoki Inoue, Agni Kalfagianni, Åsa Persson (2018). Earth System Governance. Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project (second science plan). Utrecht, the Netherlands
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Earth System Governance Project (2022) Annual Report 2022 of Earth System Governance Project, University of Utrecht