Technological and policy solutions for transitioning to a fossil-free society exist, many countries could afford the transition, and rational arguments for rapid climate action abound. Yet effective action is still lacking. Dominant policy approaches have failed to generate action at anywhere near the rate, scale or depth needed to avoid potentially catastrophic futures. This is despite 30 years of

The accumulation of micropollutants (MPs) and their increasing concentration in the aquatic environment are an emerging issue for water quality in the world. The complex web of exposure pathways, as well as the variety in the chemical structure and potency of MPs, represents enormous challenges for researchers and policy initiatives. In order to manage MPs, it has to be decided which of them have to

The water-energy-food nexus has gained particular momentum in the fields of sustainable development and resource security in the last years. However, some scholars critically question the nexus by arguing that research is strongly shaped by western knowledge with a bias towards natural scientific, engineering and economic perspectives; whereas there is a lack of attention on local socio-political aspects

The Paris Climate agreement of 2015 implies that a large portion of the world’s coal, oil, and gas resources must be left non-combusted in order to meet the goal of limiting climate change to 2 °C. As a result of this commitment, some of the national and corporate owners of fossil fuel reserves will be required to leave their reserves in the ground. However, which reserves should be left in the ground

The United States and Mexico have engaged in hydrodiplomacy—a practice of transboundary water management that blends water diplomacy and science diplomacy--for more than 75 years, since the adoption of the Treaty of 1944 and the creation of the International Boundary and Water Commission. We examine six major turning points in U.S.-Mexico hydrodiplomacy to ascertain the key factors in the region’s

Coastal flood risk reduction (CFRR) presents a significant public funding challenge, due to its high upfront costs and long-term benefits, and this challenge will increase with future sea-level rise. The funding challenge necessarily involves multiple levels of government, due to the regional nature of CFRR public goods involved. Yet there has been little research comparing such multilevel arrangements

The proliferation of multistakeholder initiatives is deemed to be a key vehicle for the implementation of international agreements for sustainable development. This is the case with the “4 per 1000: Soils for Food Security and Climate” initiative (4PM), launched in March 2015 by French Minister Stéphane Le Foll, whose aim is to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks worldwide, in order to simultaneously

This article demonstrates the analytical added value of combining the Institutional Resource Regime (IRR) approach with the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). To this end, we use the example of Swiss wind power policy and demonstrate the necessity of combining the two theoretical frameworks so as to understand why a more supportive policy regime (market incentives, clearer environmental regulations

This introductory article to the special issue on the Institutional Resource Regime (IRR) framework presents an overview of the latest developments of the framework. The IRR framework has been established as an important supplement to existing (neo)institutional approaches focusing on the management of natural resources. One of the major contributions of the IRR framework is its ability to appraise

Most indicators of airport performance found in the literature evaluate the quality of the services and the maintenance of operational safety levels, but only a few studies take into account environmental issues. This study presents the experience of the Brazilian Airport Infrastructure Enterprise (Infraero) in the implementation and assessment of the Infraero Environmental Performance Index (IEPI)

This paper reviews the early history of IPBES and focuses on epistemic choices that occurred early on in its establishment and assessment work. Firstly, it examines the challenges of handling both the vast amount of data and their associated uncertainties in trying to produce authoritative global assessments of the on-going biodiversity loss. Secondly, the paper discusses the debates around the social

Cities all over the world are confronting intertwined environmental, social and economic problems and aim to become resilient to climate change and promote wellbeing for all their citizens. Nature-based solutions have been proposed as a promising policy approach to addressing urban problems for the potential they have to deliver multiple benefits and foster wellbeing for individuals and communities

Effective designation of Protected Areas (PAs) requires the careful consideration of their social impacts as these are perceived by people. These refer to a variety of issues such as the distribution of power, social equity, social relations and more importantly the impact of PAs on human wellbeing. A number of studies have emerged in the past decade aiming to capture social impacts of PAs across the

This work presents a method to identify, to evaluate and to quantify the losses of the offer of ecosystem services provided by geodiversity, using as a case study the Taubaté Basin region, a highly urbanized portion of southeastern São Paulo State, Brazil. Our method considers not only the qualitative analysis of the abiotic aspects, but also the historical and cultural context, in which the geodiversity

The Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) was established in 2013 to drive collaborative water management across England. Globally unique in its national coverage, CaBA encompasses 106 river catchment partnerships that either incorporate or work with a range of cross-sector partner organisations including environmental organisations, Government agencies, water companies, local authorities, businesses and

The 1944 U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty remains the single most important bilateral agreement on water resources between the two countries. The “Treaty” has not only been durable but has proven to be applicable to environmental challenges not foreseen by its drafters, a function of both its context, treaty design, and recent diplomacy. Its recent extension and further application to binational watershed

Science and knowledge are called to participate in the institutional, political and behavioral changes that are necessary to address biodiversity loss. Knowledge however does not possess direct performative powers, and the relationships between knowledge production and use are complex, as has been documented for multiple issues and by different fields of research. This paper proposes to unpack three

Urban green spaces provide cultural ecosystem services, and urban policies typically aim to enhance these services by targeting new investments in deprived areas. The implementation of urban greening policies is one way to reduce inequalities in well-being, for example by targeting areas where increased access to green spaces will benefit citizens of low socioeconomic status. Most research has addressed

Recently we have seen a substantial increase in pressure for industries, such as aquaculture, to become more sustainable. When it comes to practical attempts to operationalise sustainable development, however, the ‘social stuff’ is often neglected. In this paper, we provide a detailed exploration of how the concept of social sustainability is operationalised (and therefore understood) within the aquaculture

Climate changes and associated impacts are placing pressure on institutions and the professionals working within them to become proactive and to plan for more extreme impacts in distant futures. Despite a growing recognition of the need for climate adaptation action, there are limited assessment frameworks and strategic evaluation resources to support our understanding of regional adaptive capacity

Climate change has many disruptive consequences, particularly in large river basins experiencing drying trends and declining water availability. With pressure for more adaptive policies, understanding how institutions governing water are adapting to climate risks has broad international relevance. This paper examines the challenges of climate risk assessments in Australia's Murray Darling Basin, an

The continued increase of anthropogenic pressure on the Earth’s ecosystems is degrading the natural environment and then decreasing the services it provides to humans. The type, quantity, and quality of many of those services are directly connected to land cover, yet competing demands for land continue to drive rapid land cover change, affecting ecosystem services. Accurate and updated land cover information

The role of the IPCC as a boundary, or hybrid organization, between science and policy has been well-documented. Much of this research focuses on the role that the IPCC has had in shaping policy outcomes, or how its limitations have potential impacts in uptake and political acceptability of its knowledge claims. Less has been said on its role as an organizer of scientific research. This paper takes

Environmental policies that aim to enhance nature conservation, biodiversity, and well-being of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) rely on knowledge integration and co-production processes that include both science and Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) systems. While these processes are expected to safeguard the diversity of knowledge systems, uneven power relations among participants

Environmental governance challenges often span geographic and sectoral boundaries, requiring collaboration between diverse stakeholders and multilateral decision making. To facilitate such efforts, policymakers and public managers create and support platforms that provide a structured framework for promoting collaborative governance. As the collaborative platform model is often centrally initiated

Nitrogen deposition is one of the main environmental threats to the conservation goals in areas protected by the European Habitats Directive, a problem that is quite pronounced in the livestock-rich region of Flanders, Belgium. Livestock farms are often located close to Natura 2000 areas. Therefore, ammonia emissions from livestock housing and manure storage have a high contribution to the deposition

Worldwide, every year 525 000 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea. The simple act of washing hands with soap and water can prevent more than one-third of diarrhoeal disease cases. In the densely populated urban areas of the developing world, handwashing wastewater is commonly discharged to the environment without any treatment, creating unhygienic situations and breeding places for different

The livestock sector has a large influence on direct and indirect (via land use change) greenhouse gas emissions, with potential negative impacts on climate change. We quantify the environmental impacts related to the introduction of a voluntary animal-based policy supported by the European Union (EU), the Measure 14 of Rural Development Programmes 2014–2020 on animal welfare. In particular, we focus

This paper investigates how different dimensions of water – water as a public health concern, as an essential prerequisite for producing livelihoods, and as a cultural heritage or an element of spiritual practice – are taken up in international guidelines and certification schemes for the extractive sector. As a notoriously water-intensive economic activity, mining frequently infringes on other forms

Pollinator conservation is a major focus of current conservation attention and public policy. However, an understanding of the social dimensions of pollinator conservation is urgently needed for effective action. In 2014, Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to propose to regulate neonicotinoid pesticides, and the proposal included a draft Pollinator Health Action Plan with additional

Climate change adaptation presents an opportunity for legacy cities to address growing social, racial, and economic inequality, or engage in just climate change adaptation. While the importance of just and equitable climate change adaptation is well understood, the policy and politics that underlie such efforts are less well understood. This paper focuses on the development of just climate change adaptation

Marine spatial planning (MSP), a process aimed at negotiating the spatial allocation of human activities at sea, has to integrate new challenges arising from growing human activities and their impacts on threatened marine ecosystems. Yet, human–wildlife interactions that result in threat to humans are rarely explicitly addressed in planning and almost not at all in MSP. Rare events of unprovoked shark

There is rising international concern about the zoonotic origins of many global pandemics. Increasing human-animal interactions are perceived as driving factors in pathogen transfer, emphasising the close relationships between human, animal and environmental health. Contemporary livelihood and market patterns tend to degrade ecosystems and their services, driving a cycle of degradation in increasingly

Political pressure to expand mining to protected areas in near-pristine regions urges strategic-level anticipation of the impacts of infrastructure provision necessary to support mining development. Undeveloped niobium deposits in Northwestern Amazon were broadcasted as of primary interest of Brazilian politicians, what called attention to the risks to ecosystem conservation and indigenous people in

Biodiversity is vital in the functioning of ecosystems, but it’s permanently being threatened by anthropic impacts derived from productive activities. Thus, conservation has become a global challenge. In Chile, the dissociation between economic activities and conservation has triggered numerous socio-environmental conflicts in recent decades. This work explores how different projects that give rise

The attractiveness and urbanisation of coastal zones increase their vulnerability to climate change and sea-level rise, in particular to flooding and marine erosion. In the face of the projected increase in losses and damages, the anticipation and measures needed for adaptation involve physical, socioeconomic and political dimensions at different governance levels and timescales. A large literature

Successful implementation of emerging environmentally better technologies depends on different factors: technical, environmental, economic, and social. Here, we focus on the role of policy makers to include social conditions in the development and implementation of environmentally better technologies. The objective is to determine what social aspects should be prioritized by policy makers to enforce

Nature-based measures (NBMs), understood here as measures such as floodplain restoration that use ecosystem processes to meet societal challenges, are increasingly advocated as promising solutions for managing flood risks. A suitable instrument to implement NBMs are flood risk management plans (FRMPs) stipulated by the EU Floods Directive. While prior research suggests several governance challenges

The multiple positive effects of an active school commute have convinced many cities to promote home-school walks among children and increase the awareness of designing healthy, child-friendly routes. One of the ways to ensure a child-friendly and healthy daily walk to school is to increase the greenery that children encounter on their way. This paper aims to evaluate welfare-related disparities among

In this paper, we examine how cities are working with nature-based solutions for biodiversity. Drawing on a sample of 199 nature-based solutions across Europe, we identify how cities work with nature-based solutions to conserve nature, restore nature, and to find ways to thrive through harnessing nature’s contribution to people. Our findings show that cities are making explicit contributions to biodiversity

Organic food has important environmental and health benefits, decreasing the toxicity of agricultural production, improving soil quality, and overall resilience of farming. Increasing consumers’ demand for organic food reinforces the rate of organic farming adoption and the level of farmers' risk acceptance. Despite the recorded 20% growth in organically managed farmland, its global land area is still

Crop booms in forest frontiers are a major contributor to land conversion and deforestation. In this study, we investigate the smallholder-driven northern Laos rubber boom in two case study areas (CSAs) with different speed and intensity of rubber expansion. We assess the relative importance of market, contextual, and behavioral factors in fostering or hindering the conversion of forest to rubber plantations

As climate change erodes current levels of flood protection in the UK and government investment in ‘hard’ flood risk management (hFRM) is rationed by cost-benefit ratios, the option for many communities at-risk is to implement local ‘soft’ FRM (sFRM). The frequency of widespread flooding generates an added urgency to understand how to support sFRM. Using a case study and qualitative analysis, we explore

Increased social and environmental vulnerability to extreme climatic events and inherent aggravation of environmental and social problems has placed climate change adaptation as an urgent challenge for decision-makers. Understanding and using climate change information to advance the implementation of climate-friendly policies further compounds this challenge. A rich scholarly literature focusing on

The partisan divide on climate policy in the United States is well-documented. Decarbonizing the energy system is key to addressing climate change, and social support for many energy policies is not as starkly partisan as the question of the existence of climate change. In this analysis, we blend insights from social psychology and political science that suggest that partisanship is a social identity

Habitat banking has gained traction in recent years as a means to compensate for the unavoidable environmental impacts of development projects through the exchange of so-called biodiversity offsets. Analyses of the ideological foundations and operational challenges of habitat banking exist, but there has been far less scholarship on the policy processes leading to the establishment of such schemes

This paper explores the implications of the widespread success of the term circular economy in the institutional and public debate. The concept of circular economy in itself implies a logical contradiction: on the one hand, the concept acknowledges the dependence of the economy on biophysical flows; on the other hand, the proposed solution—a business model guaranteeing a full decoupling of the economy

The textile industry presents one of the most threatening patterns of production concerning the global environmental impact. In this article, we investigated the textile fiber composition of women's clothing in the retail trade of Santos (Brazil), through information read on the labels during July 2017 (winter) and January 2018 (summer), in three types of stores: department, popular and thrift stores

The polluting of marine ecosystems with plastics is both a global and a local problem with potentially severe consequences for wildlife, economic activity, and human health. It is a problem that originates in countries’ inability to adequately manage the growing flow of waste. We use an impact pathway framework to trace the flow of plastics through the socio-ecological system and identify the role

Urban green spaces provide multiple ecosystem services to city residents and are considered an important element of socio-environmental justice. For older people, urban green spaces are important for health and well-being because they provide spaces for physical activity and social interaction. They can be regarded as spaces of encounter. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset of park visitation patterns

The missing link between cross-sectoral resource management and full-scale adoption of the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus has been the lack of analytical tools that provide evidence for policy and decision-making. This study defined WEF nexus sustainability indicators, from where an analytical model was developed to manage WEF resources in an integrated manner using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

In a rising urban age planning for cities around the globe is increasingly based on assessments of ecosystem services, making enhanced considerations of ecosystem service justice critically important. Yet, justice remains a ‘blind spot’ in urban ecosystem service models and research, which can be traced back to the ecological and economic legacies of the concept itself. This legacy reproduces the normative

Public perception of climate change can either facilitate or hinder the implementation of climate policies. This perception is dependent on a number of influencing factors, called drivers, in ways that are still not clearly understood. Our study quantifies the relative strength of drivers of climate change perception, taking into account differences in the social, political, geographical, economic

The widespread historical and ongoing abandonment of agricultural lands worldwide presents important opportunities for promoting climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. The default management outcome of abandonment is natural regeneration through ecological succession. However, several different management strategies and new land uses for abandoned agricultural lands have been recommended

Marine and coastal environments provide extensive and essential ecosystem services upon which much of humanity relies, yet the incorporation of human dimensions into marine and coastal policy and management has historically been lacking. As efforts to address the substantial and diverse challenges facing marine and coastal environments continue, recent years have seen a growing call for greater consideration

In Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean, as in most low-lying coastal areas and Small Island Developing States in particular, coastal risks affect community livelihood, economic prosperity and the degradation of natural ecosystems. Risks of coastal erosion and marine flooding result both from climate-related ocean changes and anthropogenic drivers such as inappropriate coastal development and structural

This paper introduces an environment-driven, artificial intelligence model for sustainable policymaking in the European countries, focusing on Ukraine. It develops regional clusters using artificial neural networking and then it dynamically optimises budgeting allocations. It is a hybrid, environment-driven model which: i) clusters regionalised-data, using Kohonen’s self-organising map; and ii) optimises

Small-scale fishing communities are expected to adapt to fish catch fluctuations linked to global environmental change. Notwithstanding, impacts from severe climate events and overexploitation of fisheries resources can compromise functions and resilience of ecosystems and associated species, and thereby jeopardize long-term population trend stability and fisheries productivity. To date, most assessments