The Earth League’s Post

"The scholarship of synthesis can help us better understand how we ended up in our current situation and guide our engagements with the present. As such, it is one of history’s most valuable resources – and an essential feature of environmental history’s usable past." - Dr. des. Jonatan Palmblad Read Palmblad's full Notes from the Icehouse: "Environmental History’s Usable Past: On Reviving the Scholarship of Synthesis" here: https://lnkd.in/gyYiArKC #environmentalhistory

A new policy brief argues that our approach to environmental governance suffers from a critical shortcoming: it attempts to manage the issues in silos while the growing environmental crisis is systemic and interlinked. One potential solution is adopting a “planetary commons” approach, a concept advanced by a group of environmental scientists led by Johan Rockström, which describes the core biophysical functions necessary for Earth’s stability and life on this planet. Recognition of planetary commons would have a revolutionary impact on our environmental governance, the brief argues, and suggests the upcoming #SummitoftheFuture offers an important moment to recognize its core concepts and begin reorienting existing institutions and processes towards a more coherent approach to our planetary crisis. Read the policy brief here 👉  https://lnkd.in/e-bfa7Vy

Delighted to see this paper on "Unpacking polycentric climate governance", by Kristine Kern, me, Elisa Kochskämper, Dr. and Wolfgang Haupt, come out online in Global Environmental Politics. It's just the corrected proofs for the time being, but eminently readable and *open access* 🙂. We present three dimensions of governance to conceptualize degrees of polycentricity: governance *of* networks (which relates to their internal decision-making at the network level), governance *by* networks (steering and enforcement at the membership level), and governance *with* networks (openness to collaboration with other actors at the system level). We then trace the evolution of three transnational municipal climate networks (the Climate Alliance, Covenant of Mayors, and 100 Resilient Cities/Resilient Cities Network), which are located at different positions along the polycentric–monocentric spectrum. We examine how these networks have become more or less polycentric over time and highlight trade-offs between different dimensions of polycentric governance. In particular, we stress that more flexible and open (i.e. more polycentric) approaches to governance *of* networks can reduce steering and control capacities and lead to non-compliance (governance *by*), perhaps ultimately calling into question the usefulness of the network. The article forms part of a forthcoming special issue, led by Paul Tobin with support from Dave Huitema and Elke Kellner. Many thanks also to them for their help and hard work in putting it all together! https://lnkd.in/ebbrTVSx

Imagining a nature-based future for Europe in 2120! Wageningen University & Research organizes the Mansholt lectures to inspire European policymakers and stakeholders. In 2023, we emphasized the power of imagination, presenting a hopeful vision for a climate-resilient, nature-based Europe by 2120. Building on the 2022 lecture about the food system's role in fostering nature-positive futures, this year's lecture focuses on nature-based solutions as a key part of a collaborative approach to climate resilience and biodiversity, shifting from confronting challenges to embracing opportunities. In this slider the vision will be explained by illustrating several themes. You can view the full storymap via ➡ https://lnkd.in/eScHZBqC

Doom and gloom messages about climate change do well on social media 👍 but have limited effect on policy support, climate beliefs or action. New article shows how difficult it is to drive behaviour change on climate mitigation. 📖 For the article "Addressing Climate Change with Behavioral Science: A Global Intervention Tournament in 63 Countries" in Science Advances, the authors tested 11 interventions across almost 60,000 participants in over 60 countries on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and action (measured as effort dedicated to planting trees 🌱). ➡ Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), whilst no intervention had a significant impact on increasing tree planting. ➡ No silver bullet for spurring climate action. Impact of behavioural climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviours. Findings show how difficult it is to mobilise real, effortful action on climate change. 🌎 Conclusion: "Understanding how different messages work, and in what contexts, will be critical to changing beliefs, spreading the word, and mobilizing action" See journal article in Science Advances here ▶ https://lnkd.in/diFvXYcV See opinion article in Scientific American here ▶ https://lnkd.in/dysSw4Sr

Chicago is recognized as an urban heat island, a phenomenon where cities are warmer than the surrounding areas. Max Berkelhammer, a climate expert and associate professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago, shared insights on ABC 7 Chicago about the increasing temperatures in Chicago, new technologies and practical measures individuals can take to stay cool during the hot summer. Watch the interview here: https://lnkd.in/gfd3vMPs #UIC #Chicagosummer #EnvironmentalSciences

This infographic beautifully illustrates the interdisciplinary approach required to build a climate resilient net zero food system, all based on latest academic thought leadership. Here’s a snapshot of the editorial: Food systems are both a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and strongly impacted by climate and weather. Solutions to deliver net zero food systems therefore need to take climate impacts, adaptation, and resilience into account to ensure they are appropriate in a changing climate and do not conflict with adaptation goals. Food system adaptation options must also consider potential trade-offs, consequences, and synergies with net zero and other objectives such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Solutions for net zero, climate resilient food systems therefore require systematic, interdisciplinary approaches across academia, governments, business, NGOs, and the public. This Research Topic showcases a selection of studies covering cutting edge science and thought leadership towards the goal of net zero, climate-resilient food systems. #sustainability #sustainableagriculture #regenerativeagriculture #netzero

Because we are embedded within the growth dynamic, we consider it to be the norm -even though it is a distinctly abnormal period in human history and can never occur again. Tune in with the brilliant Bill Rees, co-developer of ecological footprint analysis https://ow.ly/7S8n50RvZnk

Because we are embedded within the growth dynamic, we consider it to be the norm -even though it is a distinctly abnormal period in human history and can never occur again. Tune in with the brilliant Bill Rees, co-developer of ecological footprint analysis https://ow.ly/vCi150RvZnl