1. Scales and linkages of Global Change
Jukka
Käyhkö
and
Sirkku
Juhola
Members
of
Future
Earth
Finland
Photo
from
The
Huffington
Post
blog
by
Joseph
V.
Micallef,
Apr
2015
10. Future Earth Key Focal Challenges
1.
Delivering
water,
energy,
and
food
for
all
2.
Decoupling
carbon
emissions
from
economic
growth
3.
Safeguarding
natural
assets
4.
Building
resilient
ciMes
5.
PromoMng
sustainable
rural
futures
6.
Improving
human
health
7.
Encouraging
sustainable
consumpMon
8.
Improving
governance
11. Future Earth Key Focal Challenges
Delivering
water,
energy,
and
food
for
all
Building
resilient
ciMes
Encouraging
sustainable
consumpMon
Decoupling
carbon
emissions
from
economic
growth
PromoMng
sustainable
rural
futures
Improving
governance
Safeguarding
natural
assets
Improving
human
health
12. Future Earth IniEaEve Key Focal Challenges
Delivering
water,
energy,
and
food
for
all
Building
resilient
ciMes
Encouraging
sustainable
consumpMon
Decoupling
carbon
emissions
from
economic
growth
PromoMng
sustainable
rural
futures
Improving
governance
Safeguarding
natural
assets
Improving
human
health
• GC
challenges
do
not
operate
in
isolaMon
–
they
are
coupled
sub-‐systems
of
larger
systems
• We
need
to
understand
the
spaMo-‐temporal
scales
and
temporal
lags
of
the
systems,
plus
their
linkages
• We
will
never
reach
an
’ulMmate’
scienMfic
soluMon
(’42’)
• Decision-‐making
will
have
a
poliMcal
agenda
(=opinion),
regardless
of
science
and
knowledge
• The
ulMmate
decision-‐maker
is
the
individual
consumer
ciMzen
13. Future Earth Strategy
Delivering
water,
energy,
and
food
for
all
Building
resilient
ciMes
Encouraging
sustainable
consumpMon
Decoupling
carbon
emissions
from
economic
growth
PromoMng
sustainable
rural
futures
Improving
governance
Safeguarding
natural
assets
Improving
human
health
• Therefore,
we
suggest:
• True
transdisciplinary
research
à
Global
Change
Science,
a
new
discipline
(with
formal
educaMon)
• Global
Change
educaMon
for
school
children,
the
future
consumers
à
GC
subject
to
school
curricula
• Support
to
’no
agenda’
science
has
to
conMnue
à
not
all
science
can
be
tamed
to
serve
strategic
needs
14. What is the lowest
acceptable concentraEon
level of a good life?
15. Depending on the viewpoint…
…Climate change
…Environmental change
…Global environmental
change
…Global change
What we talk about when
we talk about GC?
16. Stepwise evolution of concerns
n Early 1900´s: concern about changes in the local /
regional environment due to our own influence (smell,
dirt, sewage etc.)
n 1940´s: changes in the local / regional environment
due to human influence (pollution, poisonous
compounds etc.)
n 1960´s: malnutrition and health issues (esp. in Africa)
n 1970´s: population growth
n 1980´s: early concern about global climate change
n 1990´s: operation of the interactive earth system
n 2000´s: the many-fold human-nature interaction
n Now?: science-policy interface ~ COP 21 in Paris?
17. The Achille’s heels causing lack of action (*Käyhkö 2006)
n Not true! – we do not accept the change as
true
n Consists of a group of ”elsewhere” problems –
we do not see the necessity to act
n Collective ”land of commons” problem – you
are not saying that I should act?
n Complex system, many uncertainties – difficult
to solve and understand – we do not know
how to act
n High expenses (socio-economic)– we do not
want to act
*Käyhkö, J. (2006). Tiede ja päätöksenteko
ympäristökysymyksissä. [Science and
decision making in environmental topics]. Niin
& Näin 50, 39-46.
