Ecopolitical catatonia: How political fantasies sustain inaction in global environmental politics

🌱 How does political fantasy sustain #climate inaction?

Elise Remling et al. show how imaginaries underpin "ecopolitical catatonia," where recognized crises are met with collective inaction, mapping these dynamics across global governance forums.
🔗 Open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Integrating political economy and financial markets in qualitative scenario analysis to elicit EU decarbonization pathways Limiting global warming in line with the Paris Agreement requires net-zero emissions by mid-century. To address uncertainties in this transition, prio…

🌍 Can expert judgement clarify pathways to #net-zero in the #EU?

Marc-Philipp Bohnet et al. build scenarios showing one 1.5°C-compatible pathway and one diverging, shaped by finance, tech, and policy interactions.
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Microbial rights for a planetary age While microbes have primarily been viewed as pathogens, contemporary microbiome science and microbial ecology increasingly emphasize their non-pathoge…

🦠 Should #microbes have rights?
Anthony Rizk et al. argue that while microbiome science emphasizes microbes’ symbiotic and ecological roles, intl law still lags behind. They propose 2 post-anthropocentric approaches: rights to microbes and rights of microbes.
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📊 New paper by @jfmorin.bsky.social et al. showing how #datasets enhance transparency and replicability in #ESG. They map efforts and identify best practices, arguing dataset design is not neutral but shapes how global environmental governance is studied.
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Examining possible future trajectories of global space sectors Governments have a significant influence in shaping the trajectory of the space industry as investors, operators, regulators and customers. This resea…

🛰️ How do governments shape the future of the #space economy?
Ronda Geise & Priyanka Dhopade map 12 national space strategies across 4 scenarios, showing divergent visions from market expansion to sustainability and outlining pathways for more equitable outcomes. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Mapping governance interactions among the Paris Agreement and SDG1 in Sub-Saharan African countries Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are interdependent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet they are often formulated and impleme…

🌏 Do #climate commitments reduce #poverty?

📊 Szedlacsek, Blondeel & Pattberg find weak links between #NDCs and #SDG1 across 49 Sub-Saharan African countries. Poverty Engagement Score suggests low potential for poverty reduction. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Co-creating adaptation solutions: A critical review of participatory instruments in climate change adaptation laws and policies Amid growing climate risks and evolving adaptation-mitigation dynamics, this study analyzes how participatory instruments are integrated into climate …

👥 How is citizen participation embedded in #climate #adaptation laws and policy?

Nadejda Komendantova et al. show EU, Germany & Spain rely on mid-level engagement, with gaps in access, feedback & funding, and call for reforms to close the participation gap.

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Cross-scale chronological analysis of Southeast Asia's seed regulations and emerging challenges for seed commons Seed regulatory frameworks paradoxically often attempt to increase farmers' access to quality seed via restrictions on their production and exchange. …

🌱 Can #seed regulation expand access while restricting #farmers’ own seed practices?

Erik Delaquis et al. show how cassava governance in the Greater #Mekong reveals tensions between harmonization, property rights, and farmer-led seed commons.
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Satellite infrastructures, earth-space sustainability, and the Global South Satellite infrastructures are indispensable elements of Earth-Space sustainability, including in a North-South context. Using social network analysis,…

🛰️ Who controls the infrastructures behind #Earth–space sustainability?

@frabitz.bsky.social et al. show that, aside from #China, the #GlobalSouth is largely excluded from #satellite manufacturing & operational control, concentrating power in a few states.
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From climate action to climate Agency: Mapping social drivers and the opportunity structure for global decarbonization

🌱 When does isolated #climate action “densify” into durable forms of climate agency?
@stefanaykut.bsky.social @antjewiener.bsky.social propose a framework to study when climate action stabilizes, expands, and institutionalizes into lasting capacities.
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Overshoot: How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown, Andreas Malm, Wim Carton, Verso, New York (2024), p. 401, $29.95 hardback

📚 New book review

🌍 Coralie Boulard & Valeria Zambianchi review Overshoot by Andreas Malm and @wimcarton.bsky.social, unpacking the idea that #climate targets can be temporarily exceeded on the promise of future carbon removals.
🔗 Read the review here:
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SDGs and living wages: Can global goals steer private sector sustainability? Global goals are theorized to catalyze non-state actors' existing strategies and practices to promote sustainable development. This research examines …

🎯 Do global goals reshape corporate practice?
Elizabeth A. Bennett finds the #SDGs accelerated the #LivingWage movement, shifting priorities and mobilizing resources. Yet worker gains remain limited, with progress also shaped by due diligence and ESG norms.
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📊 Working on an exciting new dataset? We want to hear from you!

📣 The ESG Journal is launching a new manuscript type – “Dataset Insights” – dedicated to showcasing datasets. Submit yours.

🔗 More information here: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/eart...

Unpacking adaptation lock-ins: Explaining the persistence of the adaptation gap Climate change adaptation is increasingly outpaced by accelerating climate risks, resulting in a persistent and widening adaptation gap. Many current …

🌡️ Why does #climate #adaptation keep lagging behind accelerating risks?

🔒 Nicolas Jager et al. argue that adaptation lock-ins create self-reinforcing dynamics that trap institutions in incremental, maladaptive pathways widening the adaptation gap.

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From 'Predict and Provide' towards 'Reduce Demand': institutionalising Wellbeing Economy discourse in Welsh transport policy This study analyses institutional change in the Welsh transport sector, focusing on how the wellbeing economy discourse is being institutionalised in …

🚉 Can a #wellbeing economy reshape #transport governance?

Querine Kommandeur analyses how #Wales institutionalises wellbeing discourse. While discourse and procedures shift, power and resources lag, revealing uneven change.

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Navigating just transitions: Trade union strategies and climate delay in North Sea energy politics This article investigates conditions under which just transition (JT) – a union concept reconciling worker protection with environmental imperatives –…

⚖️ Can #JustTransition delay #climate action?

Steven J. Harry & @tomasmaltby.bsky.social show how union inclusion (Norway) and exclusion (UK) both produce climate delay in North Sea #energy politics through different mechanisms.

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Explaining Ethiopia’s engagement in multilateral climate transparency arrangements: Why engage and with what implications for domestic climate action? Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries report on their climate actions through engaging in ever more elab…

🌍 How do #LeastDevelopedCountries engage with #UNFCCC transparency arrangements?
Rahwa Kidane et al. examine factors that enable/hinder engagement in #Ethiopia and show it doesn’t directly shape domestic decisions, but may normalize mitigation-focused action.
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Framing analysis of Japan and China's response to Fukushima water discharge: Technical rationality vs local experience This study examines how China and Japan competed to frame the Fukushima water discharge while constructing domestic and international legitimacy. Usin…

🌊 How do states compete to legitimize environmental risk?
Chenxi Sun et al. show how #Japan framed #Fukushima water discharge as “scientific safety,” while #China countered with an “environmental justice” frame stressing risk and responsibility.
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Corporate earth system accountability: Governance strategies to reduce microplastic pollution from consumer products Microplastics released as consumers use products are a significant, yet largely unregulated, source of global pollution. Enhancing corporate earth sys…

🛞 Who should be accountable for #microplastics from everyday product use?
Peter Dauvergne argues that tire wear—one of the largest sources—cannot be addressed by consumer responsibility. He calls for international standards and extended producer responsibility
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📢 New paper where @henrikselin.bsky.social & @noelleselin.bsky.social question the conceptual and political usefulness of applying the planetary boundary framework to chemical pollution, warning it may hinder inclusive and effective governance.

🎯🌍 Is goal-setting an effective strategy for global sustainability governance?

This new special issue takes stock of a decade of #SDGs implementation, asking what goal-setting has actually delivered for global sustainability—and where its limits lie:
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

Did the first global Stocktake successfully assess progress towards the Paris goals ‘in light of equity’? The Global Stocktake (GST) is designed to be at the heart of the Paris Agreement's ratcheting mechanism towards achieving the Paris goals. It has a ma…

⚖️ #Equity and the #GlobalStocktake (GST)

Sonja Klinsky et al. assess whether the first Global Stocktake (2023) was conducted “in the light of equity.” Despite procedural innovations, equity was only weakly integrated, with lessons for future GST cycles.

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National and voluntary sustainability standards: Convergence or divergence? Insights from Indonesian agri-food export sectors Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) are market-based mechanisms promoting sustainability in agri-food value chains. VSS can create challenges rel…

🌿 How do voluntary vs national #SustainabilityStandards differ?
Muhamad Amin Rifai et al. examine Indonesia’s palm oil and tea sectors. VSS are stricter, but NSS increasingly converge; markets drive VSS adoption while regulatory compliance drives NSS.
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Beyond the formal spotlight−Unravelling side events in multilateral environmental negotiations: a review Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), a key element of global environmental governance, and their associated agreement-making processes have b…

🧭 How do side events shape global environmental negotiations?

Chloé Taillandier et al. review 31 studies to show that side events at MEA #COPs fulfil 26 distinct functions—from agenda-setting to long-term impacts—yet remain understudied beyond the #UNFCCC.

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How to enhance continuity of strategic sustainable development work in municipalities and regions – findings from Sweden and Finland Despite numerous initiatives, methodologies and approaches, municipalities and regions continue to face challenges in sustaining long-term efforts tow…

🌱 Why do local sustainability efforts stall over time?
Lisa Wälitalo et al. identify 8 conditions for continuity—from active leadership & communication to inclusiveness & capacity-building—based on long-term action research in Sweden & Finland.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New paper on NGO influence on biodiversity protection in international organizations! We show how NGOs have influence through horizontal venue-shopping in international organizations with a variety of data from global venues 🌱 With Matilda Petersson @esg-journal.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.es...

Special drawing rights and ecological vulnerability: Monetary hierarchy and the translation of values Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) have regained prominence as international institutions search for ways to respond to recurring financial crises, rising …

🌍 Can Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) advance ecological goals?

@nicolaslaurence.bsky.social shows that ecological concerns in SDR debates are reframed as issues of liquidity and debt, making them visible but limiting their transformative power.

Article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Ecosystem (dis)services matter for conservation policies: Insights from Nepal Ecosystem services have gained increasing policy relevance for their dual role in promoting biodiversity conservation and supporting human well-being.…

🌱 How do conservation laws treat ecosystem (dis)services?
Daya Subedi et al. review 111 laws in Nepal and find ecosystem services are increasingly included, but disservices rarely noted. Policies lean toward commercial conservation, sidelining local communities.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Conceptualizing transformative change for global environmental governance The notion of transformative change has attracted increasing attention from research and policy communities as societies struggle with the nature and …

📢 New paper out by @anoukfransen.bsky.social, @harrietbulkeley.bsky.social & Jeffrey Blackwatters on the contested concept of "transformative change" for global #environmental governance.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Congratulations to the editors on this special achievement Dhanasree Jayaram, Cristina Inoue, Louis Kotzé, Ana Flavia Barros Platiau, Verônica Korber Gonçalves, Annisa Triyanti, Timothy A. Balag'kutu.

Thank you also to the contributors and the core team of the ESG Journal @esg-journal.bsky.social