The Global Gap: discussing the science/policy/society governance landscape for climate, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution and nutrient (N&P) management.

1. 1
A PARTNER WITH
The Global Gap
Image: © Edward Elgar 2014
What can be done when governance does not add up?
Dr Sarah Cornell
Copenhagen, October 2014

2. 2
A PARTNER WITH
Image: © Edward Elgar 2014
Read
Victor Galaz’s
book!
The Global Gap
what can be done when governance does not add up?
Dr Sarah Cornell
Copenhagen, October 2014

3. Planetary Boundaries spotlight…
• Research needs: integrating multiple issues;
embedding complexity and resilience theory into
Earth system science.
• Policy needs: forums for responding to global
processes, with a global evidence base
• Implementation gaps: problematic
environmental trends are not being reversed.
• Equity gaps: resource constraints unavoidably
turn the focus onto resource sharing.
Rockström and 27 co-authors (2009) ‘A Safe Operating Space for Humanity’:
research article in Ecology & Society, discussion article in Nature.

4. Which processes?
Global science and policy address:
 Climate change &
ocean acidification
 Biodiversity loss
 Perturbed biogeochemical
cycles (N and P)
 Systemic chemical pollution
• Freshwater abstraction
• Land use and land cover change
• Atmospheric physics/chemistry

5. Global problems Social Impacts Assessments
Climate
(and ocean acidification)
Environmental hazards (storms,
floods, droughts), food and water
security, health
IPCC Assessment Reports 1990, 1995, 2001,
2007, 2013/14.
IPCC 2012 SRES.
UN HDR 2007/8 Fighting climate change.
Gattuso & Hansson Ocean acidification, OUP
Biodiversity destruction ‘Loss of ecosystem services’ –
food/fuel/fibre resources, water
quality, environmental hazards,
regulating and cultural services
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005.
IPBES Sub-Global Assessments repository,
ipbes.unepwcmc-004.vm.brightbox.net
Cardinale 2012 Science 336 552–553.
Reich et al. 2012. Science 336 589–592.
CBD 2010. Global Biodiversity Outlook 3.
TEEB 2010.
FAO reports 2010 (genetic resources,
forests), 2012 (SOFA, SOFIA).
UNEP 2012 Global Environment Outlook 5
Elmqvist, Cornell, Öhman et al. 2013. Global Sustainability & Human Prosperity.
SRC report for Nordic Council of Ministers. www.norden.org/en/publications
Biogeochemical cycles
(N&P – and more)
Environmental, health and
economic problems: nutrient
losses, air and water pollution,
land and ecosystem degradation
Sutton et al. 2013. Our NutrientWorld
GESAMP 1990. State of Marine
Environment.
Chemical pollution Direct human health and
wellbeing effects, indirect impacts
through ecological impacts. (‘PBT’
substances, endocrine disruptors)
UNEP 2013. Global Chemicals Outlook
UNEP 2013. Costs of inaction
AMAP 2009. Arctic Pollution 2009.
Depledge et al. (2013) Marine
Environmental Research 83, 93–95.

6. –
Elmqvist, Cornell, Öhman et al. 2013. Global Sustainability & Human Prosperity.
SRC report for Nordic Council of Ministers. www.norden.org/en/publications

7. –
Elmqvist, Cornell, Öhman et al. 2013. Global Sustainability & Human Prosperity.
SRC report for Nordic Council of Ministers. www.norden.org/en/publications
**
–
**
[*]
n/a
Climate
change
Ocean
acidification
Biodiversity
loss
Biogeochem-ical
cycles
(N&P)
Chemical
pollution
Science + policy
with interface,
not enough action
Science + policy,
new interface,
sliding targets
Regional IEAs,
local policy,
science mobilising
for new interface
Science patchy,
policy does not
‘add up’

8. Science Policy
Decision
landscape
Climate Earth system
knowledge,
local gaps
Global agreement
on targets
and metrics
Big science
Biodiversity Local knowledge,
system gaps
Global agreement
on targets
and metrics
Concerned
coalitions
Biogeochemistry Gaps in local and
system knowledge
Partial regional
agreements,
emerging issue
Many different
players
Chemical pollution Local knowledge,
system gaps
Partial agreements,
weak metrics
Big business
Science for policy?

9. BIODIVERSITY: Geographical gaps + worldwide lack of will?
World Database of Protected Areas – protectedplanet.net

10. Come to the
biodiversity session
tomorrow!
Approaches to defining a planetary boundary for biodiversity
Global Environmental Change (2014)
Mace, Reyers, Alkemade, Biggs, Chapin, Cornell, Diaz, Jennings,
Leadley, Mumby, Purvis, Scholes, Seddon, Solan, Steffen and Woodward

11. ‘Ignorance gives rise to planetary threats’

12. New hazard identification strategy needed
- Screening
- monitoring
- management

13. Global sustainability requires
global information:
• Science needs: state, trends, and
process knowledge
• Policy needs: evidence of the problem,
evidence-base for response(s) –
measurement, monitoring
PTB Environment, Absolute Background Report

14. Society’s changing role in
monitoring and measuring
sustainability…
Photo: Imprensa do Carajás
ARR

15. Citizen science –
new dialogues, a new ‘social contract’ for science?

16. Citizen science –
new dialogues, a new ‘social contract’ for science?

17. Global information as a
sustainability issue
• Meeting people’s needs, within environmental limits
(Brundtland Report)
• Complex problems benefit from multiple knowledge
inputs
The IPBES is developing a
Multiple Evidence Base
approach, in dialogue
with the CBD

18. Global information as a
sustainability issue
• Meeting people’s needs, within environmental limits
(Brundtland Report)
• Complex problems benefit from multiple knowledge
inputs – a richer picture
• There is no substitute for meaningful engagement
between information providers and users, with
deepened dialogue and mutual learning.

19. Thank you
sarah.cornell@su.se
Image: www.informationsecuritybuzz.com Global-network