Earth System Governance Project

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.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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.

🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Read the newsletter here: ui.ungpd.com/Issues/2b9a7...

📫First newsletter of 2026 - filled with network news, publications and opportunities.

We are also happy to announce that we welcomed a record of 103 new Research Fellows last year - bringing us to over 700 members!

📢 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.

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
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Apply to become a Research Fellow with us. A global research network connecting scholars from the social sciences and humanities, and across disciplines, working from local to global scales on environmental change and governance.

Learn more & apply: www.earthsystemgovernance.org/apply-to-bec...

Alternatives to planetary boundaries can enhance science-policy linkages for chemicals governance Chemical pollution poses significant environmental and human health problems. Some researchers have put forward the planetary boundary framework as a …

Happy to announce the publication of an open-access article discussing alternatives to the planetary boundaries framework that can better enhance science-policy linkages for chemicals governance co-authored with @noelleselin.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🎯🌍 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...

Don't forget to submit your contributions to the 2026 Bath Conference on Earth System Governance 🌍

Deadline: 15 January 2026

Individual papers, panel proposals and innovative sessions are welcome.

For more details and submission guidelines: www.earthsystemgovernance.org/2026-bath/

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.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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...

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...

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.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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.
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

📬 The December edition of the Earth System Governance Newsletter is here! Packed with community news, key announcements, and opportunities across the ESG network.

Read it here: mailchi.mp/earthsystemg...

Sign up here: earthsystemgovernance.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

@uniofbath.bsky.social @bath-iscc.bsky.social @cdsbath.bsky.social @sgain.bsky.social @yixiansun.bsky.social

Don't forget to submit your contributions to the 2026 Bath Conference on Earth System Governance 🌍

Deadline: 15 January 2026

Individual papers, panel proposals and innovative sessions are welcome.

For more details and submission guidelines: www.earthsystemgovernance.org/2026-bath/

📢 Student essay competition on environmental agreements.
🥇 The Ronald Mitchell Prize
📅 Deadline : Feb 1, 2026
💰 500 $
ℹ️ www.iea.ulaval.ca/en/essay-com...

@isaess.bsky.social @esgproject.bsky.social @gepjournal.bsky.social

📣 The Call for Papers for the 2026 Bath Conference on Earth System Governance is now open.

The main conference will be held from 8–10 September 2026, in the city of Bath.

Submission deadline: 15 January 2026

Learn more and submit your abstract: bit.ly/4s4Q5KX

@esgproject.bsky.social

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...

Call for Papers - 2026 Bath Conference on Earth System Governance | GreenDeal-NET We are warmly inviting you to the 2026 Bath Conference on Earth System Governance, to be held in the historical city of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the United Kingdom. The conference is orga...

📣 Call for Paper for the 2026 Bath Conference from @esgproject.bsky.social is open!

Theme: Building Just & Sustainable Futures for Planetary Integrity

🗓 8–10 Sept, UK
📩 Submission deadline: 15/01/26

Find out the different streams and submission types, here👇
www.greendealnet.eu/Call-for-pap...

📬 The November edition of the Earth System Governance Newsletter is here! Packed with community news, key announcements, and opportunities across the ESG network.

Read it here: mailchi.mp/earthsystemg...

Sign up here: earthsystemgovernance.us12.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

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...

Call for Papers Call for Papers | Earth System Governance

🌍 Open Call: 2026 Bath Conference
@esgproject.bsky.social is accepting submissions for its global gathering in Bath, UK – 8–10 Sept 2026.

Theme: Building Just & Sustainable Futures for Planetary Integrity

📅 Submission deadline: 15 Jan 2026
🔗 Learn more: earthsystemgovernance.org/2026-bath/ca...

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

Completed special issue “Locating the ‘Global South’ in Earth System Governance”.

The issue unpacks key issues related to the #GlobalSouth in sustainability science and governance and is a product of the ESG South-South Initiative.

Read the editorial: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Several Earth System Governance (ESG) Project members are present at #COP30 in Belém.

Want to connect with the ESG community during the conference?

We have gathered a list of researchers and ESG-related side events: www.earthsystemgovernance.org/news/earth-s...