What we do
The Earth System Governance Foundation supports global research on environmental governance through academic and policy-oriented initiatives. As a non-profit under Dutch law, it connects researchers with public and private agencies to advance (global) environmental governance projects and education, while also representing the research community in international forums.
THEMES
The Earth System Governance network members’ research covers numerous themes, often organized in Taskforces and Working Groups that mobilize scholars to collaboratively address critical issues in environmental governance and sustainability. Led by senior Research Fellows or Lead Faculty, these community-driven initiatives invite participation from all scholars, ensuring diverse perspectives.
Governance of Nature and Biodiversity
Governance of Nature and Biodiversity
The Earth System Governance Taskforce on the Governance of Nature and Biodiversity seeks to bring together a diverse set of social science researchers working on the governance of nature from a variety of disciplines, including, but not limited to:
- Subjects and meanings associated with nature and biodiversity and their implications;
- New forms of governance such as ‘telecoupling governance’ and public-private partnerships;
- Effectiveness of public and private governance arrangements;
- Legitimacy and contestation;
- Actor networks, power and accountability;
- Science-policy interfaces.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Taskforce aims to build, invigorate and lead a diverse research community by providing an open forum for developing and exchanging cutting-edge research and policy studies on to what extent and under what conditions governance through goals can be effective. The Taskforce covers, but is not limited to, the steering effects of the Sustainable Development Goals on five thematic issues:
- implementation of global goals over time and at different scales;
- institutional integration and policy coherence through global goal setting;
- inclusiveness in goal setting and implementation;
- effectiveness of protecting planetary integrity through global goals;
- and methodological challenges and opportunities of studying these questions.
Ocean Governance
Ocean Governance
The Oceans Taskforce serves as platform in the Earth System Governance Project for oceans related research and will be actively cooperating with other research activities, as well as scientific and policy institutions, and ongoing policy processes related to the Oceans.
Research within the network is divided into research clusters, which span the breadth of ocean governance issues. These are, in alphabetical order:
Aquaculture; Biodiversity (incl. beyond national jurisdiction); Blue economy; Climate change; Coastal communities; Conflict & diplomacy; Energy; Fisheries; Marine mining; Ocean law; Polar oceans; Pollution (incl. plastics); Recreation & Tourism; Science & uncertainty; Shipping; Space & ecosystem based management (incl. MPAs); Sustainable development goals; Teaching & mentorship; Trade & globalization.
Climate Governance
Climate Governance
The Earth System Governance Project has formed in 2021 a Taskforce on Climate Governance. This Taskforce strengthens climate policy research within the Earth System Governance community and beyond, and mobilizes the entire breadth and wealth of the network, from the conceptual and theoretical diversity of the hundreds of affiliated ESG scholars to the broad research expertise on other planetary socio-ecological systems beyond climate, such as biodiversity and oceans.
The Taskforce on Climate Governance also works closely with the more conceptual taskforces and on planetary justice, earth system law, democracy, but also with smaller networks for issue-specific collaboration, such as the ‘Decarbonization Working Group’ or the working groups on ‘Carbon Dioxide Removal’ or ‘Trade, Investment and Finance’.
PROJECTS
STOCKHOLM+50 CONFERENCE
The Earth System Governance Foundation organized an Associated Event to the Stockholm+50 Conference, an international multistakeholder meeting convened by the United Nations General Assembly and held in Stockholm, Sweden from 2-3 June 2022.
Stockholm+50 commemorated the 50th anniversary of the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, an event that marked the environment as a pressing global issue for the first time and led to the creation of The United Nations Environment Programme.
The side-event aimed to showcase the key findings from the SDG Impact Assessment. This assessment, which was incorporated into the activities of the Earth System Governance Taskforce on the Sustainable Development Goals, involved over 60 experts and drew on more than 3000 scientific studies.
The event featured a dialogue among experts such as Frank Biermann (Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University & the Global Goals Project), Louis Kotzé (North-West University, South Africa), Khaled Emam (United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth), Andrea Ordóñez (Southern Voice), and Prakash Kashwan (Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut, Storrs). They discussed crucial implementation pathways necessary to achieve ongoing political and societal transformation towards sustainable development.
RESEARCH ON THE GOVERNANCE OF SOLAR RADIATION MODIFICATION (SRM)
On 17 January 2022, more than 60 senior climate scientists and governance scholars from around the world launched a global initiative calling for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering. More than five hundred scholars now support the call for a Non-Use Agreement.
Experts affiliated with the Earth System Governance Foundation are conducting extensive research on the governance-implications of proposals for solar radiation modification to inform the public debate around this issue.
EARTH SYSTEM GOVERNANCE PROJECT – ANNUAL CONFERENCES
The Earth System Governance Foundation has continually supported the organization of the ESG Project’s annual conferences to foster dialogue and collaboration among scholars in the field.
2019 MEXICO CONFERENCE ON EARTH SYSTEM GOVERNANCE
The 2019 Conference on Earth System Governance was hosted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico. The Mexico conference, focusing on ‘Urgent Transformations and Earth System Governance: Towards Sustainability and Justice’ was the first ESG conference organized in Latin America. This event reflected major global and regional challenges for Earth System Governance research.
2016 NAIROBI CONFERENCE ON EARTH SYSTEM GOVERNANCE
The 2016 Conference on Earth System Governance, co-organized by the Foundation, was held in Nairobi under the theme “Confronting Complexity and Inequality.” This event brought together experts in one of East Africa’s major centers, home to the United Nations Environment Programme and numerous leading organizations in sustainable development.
The conference focused on managing the increasing complexity of institutions, actors, and interests in a just and effective manner. Special emphasis was placed on global and national inequalities, exploring local disparities in sustainable development policies and the relevance of traditional North-South divides in earth system governance.
Particular attention was given to Africa, inviting papers that addressed the continent’s potential and challenges in achieving sustainable development. The event served as a platform for the community to discuss new directions for earth system governance research for the next decade.
The conference featured four main streams:
- Complexity in Earth System Governance
- Inequality in Earth System Governance
- Africa and Earth System Governance
- New Directions in Earth System Governance Research
THE ORAN R. YOUNG PRIZE
Oran R. Young, board member of the Earth System Governance Foundation, has inspired and supported countless early career scholars – many of them now leading researchers and teachers in the field themselves. The Oran R. Young Prize is awarded in recognition of his invaluable contribution to advancing the frontiers of research on the institutional dimensions of global environmental change and earth system governance, and equally to honor his enthusiasm and dedication in teaching, mentoring and supporting early-career researchers.
The Oran R. Young Prize is awarded each year for the best paper presented at the annual Earth System Governance conference, authored by early-career scholars.
The Prize Committee is chaired by Katharine Rietig (Newcastle University). The committee selects the winning paper based on academic quality and novelty as well as relevance to the Earth System Governance Research Framework.
Since its inception, the Earth System Governance Foundation has proudly supported the establishment and ongoing implementation of the Oran R. Young Prize.
SUPPORTING THE ESG PROJECT’S INFRASTRUCTURE
As part of its mission to support the implementation of the Earth System Governance Project, the Foundation previously provided support for the ESG Project’s IT infrastructure, including the website, newsletters, and other communication tools. This initiative helped strengthen communication within the global ESG research community and facilitate the dissemination of cutting-edge research in the field of earth system governance.