Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-13DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103001
A. Begemann , C. Dolriis , A. Onatunji , C. Chimisso , G. Winkel
The EU’s sustainable finance regulation classifying sustainable economic activities — known as “taxonomy” in short — has made headlines due to controversies about what can be considered a sustainable investment, and what not. This study investigates the evolution of advocacy coalitions and their strategies in the development of the taxonomy’s forestry criteria. It is built on an interpretive process tracing, involving 46 expert interviews conducted in 2019, 2021 and 2022, and an extensive document analysis. Our findings illustrate a complex process that is connected to a diversity of sectoral policies. This cross-sectoral nature of the policy process enables the emergence of cross-sectoral alliances, highlighting strikingly different policy beliefs and economic as well as bureaucratic/political interests connected to these. Owing to a rich set of strategies employed, and deals made at different policy levels, as well as an overall lack of transparency, the proclaimed “science-based” decision-making is de facto turned into a highly contested political minefield. Science – insofar involved – has contributed to the legitimisation of divergent beliefs rather than mediate among them. We conclude by arguing that the taxonomy’s potential to globally influence the regulation of sustainable finance as a “gold standard” is questionable because of the ambiguity resulting from the political struggle.
{"title":"The Politics of Sustainable Finance for Forests: Interests, beliefs and advocacy coalitions shaping forest sustainability criteria in the making of the EU Taxonomy","authors":"A. Begemann , C. Dolriis , A. Onatunji , C. Chimisso , G. Winkel","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The EU’s sustainable finance regulation classifying sustainable economic activities — known as “taxonomy” in short — has made headlines due to controversies about what can be considered a sustainable investment, and what not. This study investigates the evolution of advocacy coalitions and their strategies in the development of the taxonomy’s forestry criteria. It is built on an interpretive process tracing, involving 46 expert interviews conducted in 2019, 2021 and 2022, and an extensive document analysis. Our findings illustrate a complex process that is connected to a diversity of sectoral policies. This cross-sectoral nature of the policy process enables the emergence of cross-sectoral alliances, highlighting strikingly different policy beliefs and economic as well as bureaucratic/political interests connected to these. Owing to a rich set of strategies employed, and deals made at different policy levels, as well as an overall lack of transparency, the proclaimed “science-based” decision-making is de facto turned into a highly contested political minefield. Science – insofar involved – has contributed to the legitimisation of divergent beliefs rather than mediate among them. We conclude by arguing that the taxonomy’s potential to globally influence the regulation of sustainable finance as a “gold standard” is questionable because of the ambiguity resulting from the political struggle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 103001"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143941958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-03-11DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102984
Veronica Olofsson , Maria Mancilla Garcia , Antonio J. Castro , Sofía Cortés Calderón , Amadou Hamath Diallo , Amanda Jiménez Aceituno , María D. López-Rodríguez , Taís Sonetti Gonzalez , Amanda Sousa Silvino , Ana Paula Aguiar
With intensifying climate change impacts on dryland regions, it is essential to better understand how actors relate to each other to sustainably manage natural resources. The literature on environmental governance networks has studied actor collaborations, but it is only starting to investigate networks that sustain conflictive situations. Moreover, while actors traditionally defined as powerful have received important scholarly attention, those who do not hold formal authority or key financial resources have not, as well as their sources of power. In this paper we analyse Net-Map data to better understand the sources of power of actor groups that traditionally are not perceived as influential, hence they are neglected in actor networks. We use social network analysis and a typology of power to understand these actors’ links in the networks, aiming to decipher what might explain why the traditionally neglected actors are perceived as particularly influential. We apply these methods to local sites in three case countries, all located in dryland regions. Net-Map workshops with diverse groups of participants were held with a focus on agricultural production systems. The results reveal that a broad variety of actors that traditionally have been, and still are, neglected in decision making domains, are perceived as particularly influential in their regions, pointing to the various modes in which power is understood and exercised. The competing interests over natural resources shed light on the role that conflictive tensions played in power relations. Through this work a broader understanding of power asymmetries in actor networks is gained.
{"title":"The multifaceted spectra of power − A participatory network analysis on power structures in diverse dryland regions","authors":"Veronica Olofsson , Maria Mancilla Garcia , Antonio J. Castro , Sofía Cortés Calderón , Amadou Hamath Diallo , Amanda Jiménez Aceituno , María D. López-Rodríguez , Taís Sonetti Gonzalez , Amanda Sousa Silvino , Ana Paula Aguiar","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102984","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102984","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With intensifying climate change impacts on dryland regions, it is essential to better understand how actors relate to each other to sustainably manage natural resources. The literature on environmental governance networks has studied actor collaborations, but it is only starting to investigate networks that sustain conflictive situations. Moreover, while actors traditionally defined as powerful have received important scholarly attention, those who do not hold formal authority or key financial resources have not, as well as their sources of power. In this paper we analyse Net-Map data to better understand the sources of power of actor groups that traditionally are not perceived as influential, hence they are neglected in actor networks. We use social network analysis and a typology of power to understand these actors’ links in the networks, aiming to decipher what might explain why the traditionally neglected actors are perceived as particularly influential. We apply these methods to local sites in three case countries, all located in dryland regions. Net-Map workshops with diverse groups of participants were held with a focus on agricultural production systems. The results reveal that a broad variety of actors that traditionally have been, and still are, neglected in decision making domains, are perceived as particularly influential in their regions, pointing to the various modes in which power is understood and exercised. The competing interests over natural resources shed light on the role that conflictive tensions played in power relations. Through this work a broader understanding of power asymmetries in actor networks is gained.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 102984"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143592614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-28DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103004
Hafez Abdo , Duncan Angwin , Hakim Ben Othman , Freeman Brobbey Owusu
In June 2019, the UK government legislated a net zero target by 2050. This will directly impact the UK oil and gas industry. This study reports perceptions of key oil and gas professionals regarding the impact of transitioning to net zero on impairment, values, write-downs, and going concern in the UK oil and gas industry, as well as required net-zero-related disclosures. Data were collected through 22 interviews, two written responses to our interview questions, and disclosures made by oil and gas companies in their annual reports. We use conservatism and stakeholder theory to inform our results. Our findings confirm there will be serious impacts of the transition to net zero on impairments, asset write-downs, and on the value and going concern of several oil and gas companies. However, these impacts will not fall equally across the industry, and it is likely therefore that stakeholders will be affected differently. Our results contribute, first, to the debate on the impacts of the transition to net zero on key accounting measures of oil and gas companies; second, we identify risks associated with the transition to net zero for these companies and their stakeholders, and we classify the at-risk oil and gas companies operating in the UK; third, we present a collection of disclosure items deemed necessary by our interviewees. Our specified disclosure items may complement those of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT).
{"title":"Transitioning to net Zero: Assessing the impacts on asset impairment, write-downs and the going concern of oil and gas companies operating in the UK","authors":"Hafez Abdo , Duncan Angwin , Hakim Ben Othman , Freeman Brobbey Owusu","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In June 2019, the UK government legislated a net zero target by 2050. This will directly impact the UK oil and gas industry. This study reports perceptions of key oil and gas professionals regarding the impact of transitioning to net zero on impairment, values, write-downs, and going concern in the UK oil and gas industry, as well as required net-zero-related disclosures. Data were collected through 22 interviews, two written responses to our interview questions, and disclosures made by oil and gas companies in their annual reports. We use conservatism and stakeholder theory to inform our results. Our findings confirm there will be serious impacts of the transition to net zero on impairments, asset write-downs, and on the value and going concern of several oil and gas companies. However, these impacts will not fall equally across the industry, and it is likely therefore that stakeholders will be affected differently. Our results contribute, first, to the debate on the impacts of the transition to net zero on key accounting measures of oil and gas companies; second, we identify risks associated with the transition to net zero for these companies and their stakeholders, and we classify the at-risk oil and gas companies operating in the UK; third, we present a collection of disclosure items deemed necessary by our interviewees. Our specified disclosure items may complement those of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 103004"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143881729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Urban heat management often fails marginalised dwellers and communities due to inadequate attention to multidimensional vulnerabilities and intersecting inequalities. An overemphasis on generic characterisations of ‘vulnerable groups’ rather than embodied, lived experiences of heat-related distress risks substantial maladaptive outcomes. It exacerbates thermal insecurities and suffering among most disadvantaged populations while obscuring structural deficiencies around housing, transportation, and energy that sustain uneven power between urban privilege and disadvantage. This empirical study from Perth, Western Australia, and Delhi, India, uses 35 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus group discussions to examine intersecting inequalities and their structural drivers among diversely situated at-risk populations along with insights from governmental employees and members of the not-for-profit sector. We show overlapping layers of systemic disadvantage, substantial barriers to adaptation, and losses, as well as some subversive adaptive action. Our results indicate that concerted efforts are needed—in research, emergency management, and the policy world—to make visible such intersectional thermal suffering and address it via co-created, culturally sensitive, and cross-scalar heat action and adaptation planning.
{"title":"Intersecting inequalities and urban heat adaptation","authors":"Petra Tschakert , Anshu Ogra , Upasna Sharma , Krishna Karthikeyan , Abhilasha Singh , Adhiraj Bhowmik","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban heat management often fails marginalised dwellers and communities due to inadequate attention to multidimensional vulnerabilities and intersecting inequalities. An overemphasis on generic characterisations of ‘vulnerable groups’ rather than embodied, lived experiences of heat-related distress risks substantial maladaptive outcomes. It exacerbates thermal insecurities and suffering among most disadvantaged populations while obscuring structural deficiencies around housing, transportation, and energy that sustain uneven power between urban privilege and disadvantage. This empirical study from Perth, Western Australia, and Delhi, India, uses 35 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus group discussions to examine intersecting inequalities and their structural drivers among diversely situated at-risk populations along with insights from governmental employees and members of the not-for-profit sector. We show overlapping layers of systemic disadvantage, substantial barriers to adaptation, and losses, as well as some subversive adaptive action. Our results indicate that concerted efforts are needed—in research, emergency management, and the policy world—to make visible such intersectional thermal suffering and address it via co-created, culturally sensitive, and cross-scalar heat action and adaptation planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 103003"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144116673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103010
Umakanta Gartia, Rajesh Bhue, Ajaya Kumar Panda
Business success is now significantly shaped by combining competitive tactics and sustainability. The existing literature focuses on the effect of sustainability practices on corporate financial outcomes, yet under different levels of product market competition (PMC) are largely unexplored. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the link between ‘sustainable practices’ and ‘firm financial performance’ (FFP), considering the moderating role of PMC. We analyzed a sample of 569 Indian listed firms from 2010 to 2022, using the Feasible Least Squares (FGLS) technique. The study reveals that sustainability practices enhance firm’s internal and external earnings. Further, the moderating role of PMC acts as a disciplinary mechanism. Under high PMC level, sustainability practices increase firm’s internal earnings, while with low PMC, sustainability practices do not carry significant influence. The present study also observed that only environmental practices negatively impacting firm’s internal earnings in non-competitive environments. Furthermore, PMC does not influence the link between sustainability practices and external earnings. This finding validates and provides a robust result by addressing the endogeneity concerns through ‘two-stage least squares’ (2SLS) method and different post-diagnostic tests. The findings complement the deterrence hypothesis and stakeholder theory of corporate disclosure by integrating PMC with sustainability practices and FFP. The firm should strategically align the adoption of sustainability practices with competitive forces to enhance FFP, strengthen market assurance, and maintain long-run value creation. The study underscores the significance of sustainability practices as a strategic tool in competitive markets. It offers theoretical and practical implications for corporate decision-makers, investors, policymakers and academics by formulating effective strategies and policies that develop resilience under competitive environments while balancing short-time gains and long-run performance.
{"title":"Strategic implication of sustainability practices and corporate performance under competitive landscape; An empirical investigation","authors":"Umakanta Gartia, Rajesh Bhue, Ajaya Kumar Panda","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Business success is now significantly shaped by combining competitive tactics and sustainability. The existing literature focuses on the effect of sustainability practices on corporate financial outcomes, yet under different levels of product market competition (PMC) are largely unexplored. Thus, the present study aims to analyze the link between ‘sustainable practices’ and ‘firm financial performance’ (FFP), considering the moderating role of PMC. We analyzed a sample of 569 Indian listed firms from 2010 to 2022, using the Feasible Least Squares (FGLS) technique. The study reveals that sustainability practices enhance firm’s internal and external earnings. Further, the moderating role of PMC acts as a disciplinary mechanism. Under high PMC level, sustainability practices increase firm’s internal earnings, while with low PMC, sustainability practices do not carry significant influence. The present study also observed that only environmental practices negatively impacting firm’s internal earnings in non-competitive environments. Furthermore, PMC does not influence the link between sustainability practices and external earnings. This finding validates and provides a robust result by addressing the endogeneity concerns through ‘two-stage least squares’ (2SLS) method and different post-diagnostic tests. The findings complement the deterrence hypothesis and stakeholder theory of corporate disclosure by integrating PMC with sustainability practices and FFP. The firm should strategically align the adoption of sustainability practices with competitive forces to enhance FFP, strengthen market assurance, and maintain long-run value creation. The study underscores the significance of sustainability practices as a strategic tool in competitive markets. It offers theoretical and practical implications for corporate decision-makers, investors, policymakers and academics by formulating effective strategies and policies that develop resilience under competitive environments while balancing short-time gains and long-run performance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 103010"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144069568","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-03-11DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102986
Fulvio Di Fulvio , Tord Snäll , Pekka Lauri , Nicklas Forsell , Mikko Mönkkönen , Daniel Burgas , Clemens Blattert , Kyle Eyvindson , Astor Toraño Caicoya , Marta Vergarechea , Clara Antón-Fernández , Julian Klein , Rasmus Astrup , Jani Lukkarinen , Samuli Pitzén , Eeva Primmer
The EU Biodiversity Strategy (EUBDS) for 2030 aims to conserve and restore biodiversity by protecting large areas throughout the European Union. A target of the EUBDS is to protect 30 % of the EU’s land area by 2030, with 10 % being strictly protected (including all primary and old growth forests) and 20 % being managed ‘closer to nature’. Even though this will have a positive impact on biodiversity, it may negatively impact the EU’s wood-based bioeconomy. In this study, we analyze how alternative interpretations and distributions of the EU’s protection targets may affect future woody biomass harvest levels, exports of wood commodities, and the spatial distribution of managed areas under wood demands aligned with SSP2-RCP1.9. Using the model GLOBIOM-Forest, we simulate scenarios representing a variety of interpretations and geographic distributions of the EUBDS targets. The EUBDS targets would have a limited impact on EU harvest levels since the EU can still increase its wood harvest between 21 % and 24 % by 2100. With strict protection of 30 % of the area, the EU harvest level can still be increased by 10 %. Moreover, the most likely scenario (10 %/20 % protection within each MS) will result in increased net exports in the coming decades, but a slight decline after 2050. However, if protection is intended to also represent site productivity or to re-establish a green infrastructure, then EU net exports will also decline before 2050. With the decreased EU roundwood harvest, increased harvest will occur in other biomes and mostly leaking into boreal regions.
{"title":"Impact of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 on the EU wood-based bioeconomy","authors":"Fulvio Di Fulvio , Tord Snäll , Pekka Lauri , Nicklas Forsell , Mikko Mönkkönen , Daniel Burgas , Clemens Blattert , Kyle Eyvindson , Astor Toraño Caicoya , Marta Vergarechea , Clara Antón-Fernández , Julian Klein , Rasmus Astrup , Jani Lukkarinen , Samuli Pitzén , Eeva Primmer","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102986","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102986","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The EU Biodiversity Strategy (EUBDS) for 2030 aims to conserve and restore biodiversity by protecting large areas throughout the European Union. A target of the EUBDS is to protect 30 % of the EU’s land area by 2030, with 10 % being strictly protected (including all primary and old growth forests) and 20 % being managed ‘closer to nature’. Even though this will have a positive impact on biodiversity, it may negatively impact the EU’s wood-based bioeconomy. In this study, we analyze how alternative interpretations and distributions of the EU’s protection targets may affect future woody biomass harvest levels, exports of wood commodities, and the spatial distribution of managed areas under wood demands aligned with SSP2-RCP1.9. Using the model GLOBIOM-Forest, we simulate scenarios representing a variety of interpretations and geographic distributions of the EUBDS targets. The EUBDS targets would have a limited impact on EU harvest levels since the EU can still increase its wood harvest between 21 % and 24 % by 2100. With strict protection of 30 % of the area, the EU harvest level can still be increased by 10 %. Moreover, the most likely scenario (10 %/20 % protection within each MS) will result in increased net exports in the coming decades, but a slight decline after 2050. However, if protection is intended to also represent site productivity or to re-establish a green infrastructure, then EU net exports will also decline before 2050. With the decreased EU roundwood harvest, increased harvest will occur in other biomes and mostly leaking into boreal regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 102986"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143592725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-03-04DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102983
Michele L Barnes , Sarah Sutcliffe , Innocent Muly , Nyawira Muthiga , Stephen Wanyonyi , Petr Matous , Michael Murunga
Environmental change is escalating across the globe, threatening the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of people. Substantial effort and resources have been committed at a global scale to support adaptation projects in affected communities to confront these changes. Yet not everyone has equal capabilities to adapt, guide adaptation decisions, and contribute to envisioning alternative futures. Drawing on theories of agency, social networks, and adaptation and employing a unique time-series dataset including 653 individuals across five Kenyan coastal communities, here we examine how agency over adaptation decisions is socially differentiated and the disparities that exist regarding who is able to bolster their level of agency over time. Our results show that involvement in local environmental decision-making processes, where adaptation to environmental change is negotiated, is strongly associated with feelings of effective power. Yet this power is largely concentrated among older individuals, community leaders, those with greater assets, and those with social ties to leaders – pointing to existing social hierarchies and resource differentials that drive adaptation decisions. The only significant predictor of changes in agency over time was network exposure: individuals with direct contact with those who were actively involved in environmental decision-making (individual agency) were likely to become more involved themselves; yet contact with passively involved partners (proxy agency) led to decreases in agency over time. Our results suggest a dynamic ripple effect in agency through social networks, suggesting that social networks can both catalyse and inhibit perceptions of effective power over adaptation decisions through participation in environmental decision-making. Our findings underscore the importance of social networks in enabling and constraining agency, highlight the role of leadership and power dynamics in environmental decision-making and locally led adaptation, and provide a foundation for future research on fostering inclusive and just adaptation.
{"title":"Agency, social networks, and adaptation to environmental change","authors":"Michele L Barnes , Sarah Sutcliffe , Innocent Muly , Nyawira Muthiga , Stephen Wanyonyi , Petr Matous , Michael Murunga","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102983","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102983","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Environmental change is escalating across the globe, threatening the livelihoods and wellbeing of millions of people. Substantial effort and resources have been committed at a global scale to support adaptation projects in affected communities to confront these changes. Yet not everyone has equal capabilities to adapt, guide adaptation decisions, and contribute to envisioning alternative futures. Drawing on theories of agency, social networks, and adaptation and employing a unique time-series dataset including 653 individuals across five Kenyan coastal communities, here we examine how agency over adaptation decisions is socially differentiated and the disparities that exist regarding who is able to bolster their level of agency over time. Our results show that involvement in local environmental decision-making processes, where adaptation to environmental change is negotiated, is strongly associated with feelings of effective power. Yet this power is largely concentrated among older individuals, community leaders, those with greater assets, and those with social ties to leaders – pointing to existing social hierarchies and resource differentials that drive adaptation decisions. The only significant predictor of changes in agency over time was network exposure: individuals with direct contact with those who were actively involved in environmental decision-making (individual agency) were likely to become more involved themselves; yet contact with passively involved partners (proxy agency) led to decreases in agency over time. Our results suggest a dynamic ripple effect in agency through social networks, suggesting that social networks can both catalyse and inhibit perceptions of effective power over adaptation decisions through participation in environmental decision-making. Our findings underscore the importance of social networks in enabling and constraining agency, highlight the role of leadership and power dynamics in environmental decision-making and locally led adaptation, and provide a foundation for future research on fostering inclusive and just adaptation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 102983"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-25DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102998
Hugo Delcayre, Sébastien Bourdin
This study aimed to examine the reasons behind the wait-and-see and resistant attitudes of local elected officials regarding energy transition projects. Although there is consensus on the importance of renewable energy in combating climate change, its implementation at the local level often encounters opposition from several actors, including elected officials. This study identified the internal, external, and personal factors that influence this opposition by conducting semi-structured interviews with the French officials and stakeholders involved in the energy transition and by analysing the local and regional press. Our findings indicate that political strategies, regulatory complexities, and personal beliefs play significant roles in shaping officials’ decisions regarding energy transition projects. Furthermore, by proposing a typology of elected officials according to their modes of opposition, we offer insights to promote effective and sustainable local energy transitions.
{"title":"Beyond ‘Not in my electoral Year’: Why do some elected officials oppose renewable energy projects?","authors":"Hugo Delcayre, Sébastien Bourdin","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102998","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.102998","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aimed to examine the reasons behind the wait-and-see and resistant attitudes of local elected officials regarding energy transition projects. Although there is consensus on the importance of renewable energy in combating climate change, its implementation at the local level often encounters opposition from several actors, including elected officials. This study identified the internal, external, and personal factors that influence this opposition by conducting semi-structured interviews with the French officials and stakeholders involved in the energy transition and by analysing the local and regional press. Our findings indicate that political strategies, regulatory complexities, and personal beliefs play significant roles in shaping officials’ decisions regarding energy transition projects. Furthermore, by proposing a typology of elected officials according to their modes of opposition, we offer insights to promote effective and sustainable local energy transitions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 102998"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143874502","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-05-22DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103008
Chris McElroy , Daniel W. O’Neill
We use multi-regional input–output analysis to calculate the paid labour, energy, emissions, and material use required to provide basic needs for all people. We calculate two different low-consumption scenarios, using the UK as a case study: (1) a “decent living” scenario, which includes only the bare necessities, and (2) a “good life” scenario, based on the minimum living standards demanded by UK residents. We compare the resulting footprints to the current footprint of the UK, and to the footprints of the US, China, India, and a global average. Labour footprints are disaggregated by sector, skill level, and region of origin.
We find that neither low-consumption scenario provides a realistic path to providing a good life for all. While the decent living scenario would require only an 18-hour working week, and on a per capita basis, 35 GJ of energy use, 4.0 tonnes of emissions, and 5.5 tonnes of materials per year, it fails to provide essential needs. The good life scenario encompasses these needs, but would require a 46-hour working week, 73 GJ of energy use, 7.5 tonnes of emissions, and 13.2 tonnes of materials per capita. Both scenarios represent substantial reductions from the UK’s current labour footprint of 65 hours per week, which the UK is only able to sustain by importing a substantial portion of its labour from other countries. We conclude that limiting consumption to the level of basic needs is not enough to achieve sustainability. Substantial changes to provisioning systems are also required.
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Pub Date : 2025-07-01Epub Date: 2025-04-29DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103002
Yugang He
This article explores the relationship between political uncertainty and carbon emissions across 34 Global South countries from 2000 to 2023, uncovering key links between policy stability and environmental sustainability. By employing the year- and country-fixed effects model alongside generalized least squares with panel corrected standard errors, this analysis highlights the impact of political instability on environmental outcomes. Robustness checks—conducted via the generalized method of moments and a dynamic linear panel model—further confirm the consistency and reliability of the results. The findings reveal that political uncertainty significantly elevates carbon emissions and follows a nonlinear pattern: moderate political uncertainty tends to stimulate economic activity, resulting in higher emissions, while extreme uncertainty curtails economic activity, thereby reducing emissions. Moreover, a positive interaction between political uncertainty and mineral policy signals increased resource extraction in politically unstable settings. Conversely, interactions with technological innovation and energy transition display significant negative effects, suggesting that technological advancement and renewable energy adoption effectively counteract emissions growth under high political uncertainty. This study provides new insights into the distinct political and economic dynamics influencing environmental challenges in Global South countries, emphasizing the crucial role of technological innovation and energy transition in mitigating the environmental impacts of political instability.
{"title":"Navigating political uncertainty and mineral policy: Pathways to Global South’s environmental sustainability","authors":"Yugang He","doi":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article explores the relationship between political uncertainty and carbon emissions across 34 Global South countries from 2000 to 2023, uncovering key links between policy stability and environmental sustainability. By employing the year- and country-fixed effects model alongside generalized least squares with panel corrected standard errors, this analysis highlights the impact of political instability on environmental outcomes. Robustness checks—conducted via the generalized method of moments and a dynamic linear panel model—further confirm the consistency and reliability of the results. The findings reveal that political uncertainty significantly elevates carbon emissions and follows a nonlinear pattern: moderate political uncertainty tends to stimulate economic activity, resulting in higher emissions, while extreme uncertainty curtails economic activity, thereby reducing emissions. Moreover, a positive interaction between political uncertainty and mineral policy signals increased resource extraction in politically unstable settings. Conversely, interactions with technological innovation and energy transition display significant negative effects, suggesting that technological advancement and renewable energy adoption effectively counteract emissions growth under high political uncertainty. This study provides new insights into the distinct political and economic dynamics influencing environmental challenges in Global South countries, emphasizing the crucial role of technological innovation and energy transition in mitigating the environmental impacts of political instability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":328,"journal":{"name":"Global Environmental Change","volume":"92 ","pages":"Article 103002"},"PeriodicalIF":8.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143886332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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