42 academic papers and reports on intergenerational equity, future generations, and youth governance — the scholarly evidence base behind the signals.
Zakieh Taghizadeh
Environmental Management2025peer_reviewed_article4 citations
Intergenerational and intra-generational equity have gained increasing significance in the development of international environmental law, particularly in response to the accelerating loss of marine biodiversity. The landmark Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) introduces a novel legal framework for global ocean governance, recognizing the shared responsibility of States to manage and sustainably use marine biological diversity for both present and future generations. This article examines how the BBNJ Agreement incorporates and operationalizes sustainable equity principles and assesses the implications of the inter-/intra-generational principles for advancing environmental management across theory, policy, and practice. Specifically, it explores how the common heritage of humankind principle and the precautionary approach can inform an integrated, equitable system for managing marine genetic resources (MGRs) as global commons resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The analysis highlights pathways for embedding accountability and stewardship in international marine policy towards future generations, and offers a framework for balancing inter-/intra-generational equity asymmetries in decision and policy-making processes. By bridging legal principles with environmental ma
Marij Swinkels, Olivier de Vette, Victor Toom
Policy Studies2025peer_reviewed_article3 citations
Long-term public issues face the intergenerational problem: current policy decisions place a disproportionate burden on future generations while primarily benefitting those in the present. The interests of present generations trump those of future generations, as the latter play no explicit part as stakeholders in policy making processes. How can the interests of future generations be voiced in the present? In this paper, we explore an innovative method to incorporate the interests of future generations in the process of policymaking: future design. First, we situate future design in the policy process and relate it to other intergenerational policymaking initiatives that aim to redeem the intergenerational problem. Second, we show how we applied future design and provide insights into three pilots that we organized on two long-term public issues in the Netherlands: housing shortages and water management. We conclude that future design can effectively contribute to representing the interests of future generations, but that adoption of future design in different contexts also requires adaptation of the method. The findings increase our understanding of the value of future design as an innovative policymaking practice to strengthen intergenerational policymaking. As such, it provides policymakers with insights into how to use this method.
Irene Lorenzoni, Andrew Jordan, Chantal Sullivan-Thomsett, Lucas Geese
Climate Policy2025literature_review12 citations
Citizen’s Climate Assemblies (CCA) have been hailed by academics and non-academics as initiatives to improve the legitimacy and efficacy of climate policy governance. Yet it is only recently that such normative claims have been explored empirically. This article reviews the rapidly emerging literature on citizens’ assemblies – and specifically national citizens’ climate assemblies (NCCAs) – and related deliberative events. It critically reflects upon the emerging themes in the literature and assesses their significance for understanding climate policy and governance. It reveals that advocates of assemblies originally claimed that they would: (1) provide an opportunity to improve the input of evidence into policymaking; (2) raise the political awareness of climate action among citizens and elites; and (3) improve the quality of policymaking. However, a much more nuanced picture of their actual role is beginning to appear. It indicates that each assembly is in fact unique in character, shaped by how it combines design features and the contextual conditions in which they operate. This further affects their impact. Views on NCCAs vary significantly: whilst some politicians are dismissive of their contribution, environmental NGOs have generally been the most supportive; the reception among publics has varied greatly; business and industry have only recently begun to discuss their re
Nathan Bennett, Veronica Relano, Katina Roumbedakis, Jessica Blythe +10
Frontiers in Marine Science2025peer_reviewed_article31 citations
Inequity is ubiquitous in the ocean, and social equity receives insufficient attention in ocean governance and management efforts. Thus, we assert that proponents of sustainability must center social equity in future ocean governance, to address past social and environmental injustices, to align with international law and conservation policy, and to realize objectives of sustainability. This obligation applies across all marine policy realms, including marine conservation, fisheries management, climate adaptation and the ocean economy, in all socio-political contexts and at different geographical scales. Indeed, many governmental, non-governmental, and philanthropic organizations are striving to advance social equity across their ocean sustainability focused agendas, policies, programs, initiatives, and portfolios. To date, however, there has been limited attention to how to meaningfully assess status and monitor progress on social equity in ocean governance (aka “ocean equity”) across different marine policy realms. Here, we contribute to ongoing efforts to advance ocean equity through providing guidance on five steps to develop bespoke, fit to purpose and contextually appropriate assessment and monitoring frameworks and approaches to measure status of and track changes in ocean equity. These steps include: 1) Clearly articulating the overarching purpose and aim; 2) Convening
James S. Fishkin, Valentin Bolotnyy, Joshua Lerner, Alice Siu +1
Perspectives on Politics2025peer_reviewed_article23 citations
The theory and practice of what has come to be called “deliberative democracy” have been revived for the modern era with a focus on deliberative microcosms selected through random sampling or “sortition.” But might it be possible to spread some of the benefits of deliberation beyond mini-publics to the broader society? Can technology assist with scaling an organized deliberative process? In particular, would those who experience such a process become more deliberative voters? Would their considered judgments from deliberation influence their voting? We draw on a larger than usual experiment with public deliberation and a one-year follow-up in the mid-term U.S. elections to suggest answers to these questions. It has implications for whether spreading an organized deliberative process could, in theory, be used to create more deliberative elections.
Neya Global, Anna Neya Kazanskaia
—2025report43 citations
Human rights and development are deeply interconnected, with each reinforcing the other. This book explores how a rights-based approach can strengthen development initiatives, ensuring equity, participation, and accountability. It examines international frameworks, case studies, and practical strategies for integrating human rights principles into non-profit and policy-driven programs.
Setzer, Joana, Higham, Catherine
Climate Change and Law Collection2024report235 citations
This is the ninth edition in the Grantham Research Institute’s annual Global trends in climate change litigation snapshot series. Each report provides a synthesis of the latest developments and research in the climate change litigation field.1 By combining legal analysis with a sociolegal lens, the series provides readers with both the foundational knowledge and the updated understanding needed to assess the impact that fast-moving legal developments may have on the climate governance landscape. The numerical analysis in this 2026 report focuses primarily on cases filed and decided in the 2025 calendar year; we also provide commentary on significant developments in cases from the first five months of 2026.
Misato Sato, Glen Gostlow, Catherine Higham, Joana Setzer +1
Nature Sustainability2024peer_reviewed_article56 citations
Abstract Communities and individuals are turning to courts to hold governments and high-emitting firms to account for the adverse consequences of climate change. Such litigation is part of a broader trend in which stakeholders are increasingly scrutinizing firms for their sustainability practices. For firms, rising climate litigation risk may exacerbate wider sustainability risks. Here we construct a comprehensive database of filings and decisions relating to 108 climate lawsuits against US- and European-listed firms between 2005 and 2021. We show that firms experience, on average, a 0.41% fall in stock returns following a climate-related filing or an unfavourable court decision. Cases filed against Carbon Majors, primarily the world’s largest fossil fuel producers, saw the largest stock market responses, with returns reducing by 0.57% and 1.50% following filings and unfavourable decisions, respectively. Markets respond more to ‘novel’ climate litigation involving new legal arguments or jurisdictions. Our findings suggest that climate litigation provides a way for stakeholders to challenge actual and perceived weaknesses in the sustainability practices of firms. We conclude that financial markets consider such litigation to be a relevant financial risk.
Rania Benbba, Majd Barhdadi, Antonio Ficarella, Giovanni Manente +5
Resources2024peer_reviewed_article54 citations
The world’s attention is currently focused on the energy transition to sustainable energy. The drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming, energy security, and the generalization of access to energy have contributed to the adoption of the Moroccan Energy Strategy, with a strong focus on renewable energy (RE). Morocco is notoriously poor in conventional primary fossil energy resources, with energy dependence on the order of 90%. In addition, the energy crisis that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, compounded with steady increase in demand, has heavily affected the security and stability of the country’s energy situation. The transition to RE by strongly engaging in the implementation of several solar, wind, and hydro energy projects has made the country the leader in RE in Africa. These projects benefit from the country’s excellent solar and wind energy potential. As a consequence, by 2030, the share of RE in the installed capacity is expected to reach 52%. An overview of the current situation of RE (particularly solar energy) in Morocco is provided, including the potentials, obstacles, challenges, and future perspectives. Thanks to its high solar potential, it is predictable that Morocco’s effort will be focused on this field: the Erasmus plus INNOMED project is a virtuous example of international cooperation, aiming
Nicole Curato, Graham Smith, Rebecca Willis, David Rosén
—2024report9 citations
Climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time that will determine the fate of coming generations on our planet. Climate action since the 2015 Paris Agreement shows that while solutions are available, neither ambition nor implementation are progressing at the required pace. Democratic institutions must adapt to the cause not only to protect the climate but also since climate change poses an existential risk to democracy. Democracy will struggle to remain a credible and legitimate political system if it does not identify effective solutions to the climate crisis. Climate assemblies are examples of innovation that includes citizens directly in developing climate policy, which can raise climate ambition and strengthen the legitimacy of the difficult policy choices involved in the transition towards net zero. Climate assemblies can potentially turn protest demands into actionable recommendations and help build social mandates for change. This Report examines lessons learned from the first wave of climate assemblies and discusses how deliberative practices may help build more ambitious and citizen-owned climate agendas.
Penelope J. S. Stein, Michael Ashley Stein, Nora Groce, Maria Kett +25
The Lancet Planetary Health2024peer_reviewed_article45 citations
Globally, more than 1 billion people with disabilities are disproportionately and differentially at risk from the climate crisis. Yet there is a notable absence of climate policy, programming, and research at the intersection of disability and climate change. Advancing climate justice urgently requires accelerated disability-inclusive climate action. We present pivotal research recommendations and guidance to advance disability-inclusive climate research and responses identified by a global interdisciplinary group of experts in disability, climate change, sustainable development, public health, environmental justice, humanitarianism, gender, Indigeneity, mental health, law, and planetary health. Climate-resilient development is a framework for enabling universal sustainable development. Advancing inclusive climate-resilient development requires a disability human rights approach that deepens understanding of how societal choices and actions-characterised by meaningful participation, inclusion, knowledge diversity in decision making, and co-design by and with people with disabilities and their representative organisations-build collective climate resilience benefiting disability communities and society at large while advancing planetary health.
Amanda Giang, Morgan R. Edwards, Sarah Fletcher, Rivkah Gardner‐Frolick +18
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences2024peer_reviewed_article53 citations
Equity is core to sustainability, but current interventions to enhance sustainability often fall short in adequately addressing this linkage. Models are important tools for informing action, and their development and use present opportunities to center equity in process and outcomes. This Perspective highlights progress in integrating equity into systems modeling in sustainability science, as well as key challenges, tensions, and future directions. We present a conceptual framework for equity in systems modeling, focused on its distributional, procedural, and recognitional dimensions. We discuss examples of how modelers engage with these different dimensions throughout the modeling process and from across a range of modeling approaches and topics, including water resources, energy systems, air quality, and conservation. Synthesizing across these examples, we identify significant advances in enhancing procedural and recognitional equity by reframing models as tools to explore pluralism in worldviews and knowledge systems; enabling models to better represent distributional inequity through new computational techniques and data sources; investigating the dynamics that can drive inequities by linking different modeling approaches; and developing more nuanced metrics for assessing equity outcomes. We also identify important future directions, such as an increased focus on using mode
Krushil Watene
Cambridge University Press eBooks2024report24 citations
Indigenous philosophies bring to life the idea that we are all part of an intergenerational journey. Each of us are born in the imaginations of generations past, with the responsibility to set the course for the journeys that follow. To embed this intergenerational thinking, Indigenous philosophies emphasize the importance of nourishing and regenerative relationships. This chapter explores some of these ideas and describes how they enhance relationships through regenerative practices, invest in relational repair, and enable the ongoing transformation of concepts and ideas toward new imaginaries. In so doing, the paper notes some of the ways that policies and processes can they function to realize intergenerational justice and ground an enduring sense of responsibility to its pursuit and realization.
Freya Croft, Hugh Breakey, Michelle Voyer, Andrés M. Cisneros‐Montemayor +14
Environmental Science & Policy2024peer_reviewed_article50 citations
The blue economy was originally conceptualised as having a strong focus on social equity; however, in practice, these equity considerations have been overshadowed by neo-liberal capitalist agendas, which have become dominant in blue economy discourse. A continued expansion of ocean industry developments and activities has resulted in an inequitable share of the burdens and benefits of utilising ocean spaces and has exacerbated wealth disparities and power asymmetries. Therefore, finding mechanisms to reinstate equity as fundamental to blue economy governance and practice is increasingly important. However, there remain few practical examples that outline how to embed equity within blue economy governance and current frameworks for understanding equity are complex, often divergent and less focused on implementation. This paper outlines a new model for conceptualising equity that is clear and easily understood, captures equity’s key components and dimensions, and covers key ethical concerns that arise in blue economy development. Furthermore, this model can be practically applied and embedded into governance structures. To demonstrate the model’s application, the paper outlines one participatory approach to implementing the model in blue economy governance.
Michael Rose
Politics and Governance2024peer_reviewed_article9 citations
Future generations will be strongly affected by political decisions made today (e.g., by the long-term consequences of climate change). According to the democratic all-affected principle, the interests of everyone affected by political decisions should be considered in the political decision-making process. Future generations cannot influence democratic decision-making, since they do not yet exist. Election-based democratic incentive systems are said to make it difficult to consider the needs of future generations today. Surprisingly, however, since the early 1990s, an increasing number of democracies have established what could be called institutional proxy representatives of future generations (proxies), i.e., public bodies with institutionalized access to government and/or parliament that introduce the construed interests of future generations into the political decision-making process. Proxies help to consider future generations’ interests alongside the interests of current constituencies. After concept building, this comparative study searches all liberal democracies and identifies 25 proxies, with heterogeneous institutional designs. By employing membership criteria, three types are distinguished: (a) expertise-driven independent guardians (type I), (b) political or administrative advisory and coordination bodies (type II), and (c) sustainability stakeholder councils or c
James B. Kirkbride, Deidre M. Anglin, Ian Colman, Jennifer Dykxhoorn +7
World Psychiatry2024peer_reviewed_article1054 citations
People exposed to more unfavourable social circumstances are more vulnerable to poor mental health over their life course, in ways that are often determined by structural factors which generate and perpetuate intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and poor health. Addressing these challenges is an imperative matter of social justice. In this paper we provide a roadmap to address the social determinants that cause mental ill health. Relying as far as possible on high-quality evidence, we first map out the literature that supports a causal link between social determinants and later mental health outcomes. Given the breadth of this topic, we focus on the most pervasive social determinants across the life course, and those that are common across major mental disorders. We draw primarily on the available evidence from the Global North, acknowledging that other global contexts will face both similar and unique sets of social determinants that will require equitable attention. Much of our evidence focuses on mental health in groups who are marginalized, and thus often exposed to a multitude of intersecting social risk factors. These groups include refugees, asylum seekers and displaced persons, as well as ethnoracial minoritized groups; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) groups; and those living in poverty. We then introduce a preventive framework for conceptuali
Kati Kulovesi, Sebastian Oberthür, Harro van Asselt, Annalisa Savaresi
Journal of Environmental Law2024peer_reviewed_article39 citations
Abstract In 2021, the European Union (EU) adopted the so-called European Climate Law (ECL), enshrining in law the 2050 climate-neutrality objective and upgraded 2030 emission reduction target. The ECL bears the hallmarks of what we term ‘procedural climate governance’, which comprises the regulatory frameworks, instruments, institutions and processes that shape substantive climate policies and their implementation. This article identifies seven key functions of procedural climate governance—target-setting; planning; monitoring and evaluation; climate policy integration; scientific expert advice; access to justice; and public participation—and uses these for critically assessing the ECL. We argue that while the ECL has significantly strengthened important aspects of EU procedural climate governance, further reforms are needed for the EU to develop and implement the substantive policies towards a climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy and society and to bolster public support and ownership of the transition. The upcoming reviews of the ECL and the Governance Regulation provide a critical opportunity for strengthening procedural climate governance in the EU.
Adrián Galván Labrador, Christos Zografos
Environmental Policy and Governance2023peer_reviewed_article37 citations
Abstract Citizens' assemblies to address climate change have multiplied in recent years. Seen as a useful tool to provide solutions to the climate crisis, they have, however, struggled to impact public policy. Additionally, little is known about how citizens' proposals are diluted or rejected in climate assemblies. We explore this situation through a qualitative case study of the French Citizens' Convention on Climate. The French case is unique in that it involved the incorporation of assembly participants in the process of integrating assembly proposals into a new Law on Climate and Resilience. We use semi‐structured interviews and analysis of secondary documentation to understand how citizens' views were finally excluded from draft legislation. Findings show remarkable citizen empowerment taking place during the Citizens' Convention, which nevertheless vanished during the joint elaboration of the law, allowing certain political and economic interests to impose their vision. We suggest that organisers of the process and social movements engaged in climate assemblies should be aware of such risks and try to control how decision‐makers adopt citizen proposals for producing legislation in order to avoid exclusions and democracy deficits in democratic climate policy‐making. We discuss and reflect on the potential and limits of deliberative and agonistic approaches to democracy and
Vesa Koskimaa, Tapio Raunio
European Journal of Risk Regulation2023peer_reviewed_article5 citations
Abstract Responding to the need to make democratic governance more anticipatory, during recent decades parliaments have increasingly made efforts to involve elected legislators directly in addressing future risks and envisioning long-term developments. At the level of general democratic-institutional principles, engaging legislators in national-level foresight is expected to enhance the general legitimacy of future-regarding policymaking almost automatically by broadening the scope of democratic actors involved in policy work. However, even the basic mechanisms through which the impact of legislature-based foresight activities could traverse to policymaking remain largely uncharted and unknown. To develop a preliminary framework for detecting and comparing such mechanisms, we draw from the experiences of the most institutionalised and influential legislature-based foresight unit, the Committee for the Future in the Finnish Eduskunta . We extract three general mechanisms through which parliamentary future committees could make a valuable contribution to national-level strategic foresight: (1) they can improve the quality of future-regarding policymaking by broadening and consolidating national foresight “ecosystems”; (2) they can strengthen the transparency and accountability of the foresight work of political executives; and (3) they can enhance the legitimacy of anticipatory g
Louis J. Kotzé, Benoît Mayer, Harro van Asselt, Joana Setzer +7
Global Policy2023peer_reviewed_article19 citations
Abstract Numerous scientific reports have evidenced the transformation of the earth system due to human activities. These changes – captured under the term ‘Anthropocene’ – require a new perspective on global law and policy. The concept of ‘earth system law’ situates law in an earth system context and offers a new perspective to interrogate the role of law in governing planetary challenges such as climate change. The discourse on earth system law has not yet fully recognised courts as actors that could shape climate governance, while climate litigation discourse has insufficiently considered aspects of earth system law. We posit that courts play an increasingly influential climate governance role and that they need to be recognised as Anthropocene institutions within the earth system law paradigm. Drawing on a set of prominent climate cases, we discuss five inter‐related domains that are relevant for earth system law and where the potential influence of courts can be discerned: establishing accountability, redefining power relations, remedying vulnerabilities and injustices, increasing the reach and impact of international climate law and applying climate science to adjudicate legal disputes. We suggest that their innovative work in these domains could provide a basis for positioning courts as planetary climate governance actors.
Claudia Landwehr, Armin Schäfer
Res Publica2023peer_reviewed_article16 citations
Abstract In the eyes of its citizens, liberal democracy is connected to at least three promises—the promises of autonomy, equality and rationality. To what extent citizens can view these promises as being fulfilled will affect political trust and support for democracy. The rise of populism and trends towards technocratic government have rightly been interpreted as arising from a gap between normative aspirations and institutional and practical realities. Does this mean that we should adjust our ideals to reality, or that we should strive to bring realities closer to the ideal? Self-proclaimed ‘realists’ argue that democratic ideals are unattainable and that we should therefore settle for a second-best alternative, such as a competitive oligarchy. Against this position, we point out that deliberative democracy offers an attractive ideal for successful representation that can inform democratic innovation. However, deliberative democracy also remains institutionally underdetermined and needs to develop better criteria that enable us to determine if, how and under what conditions the attempt to fulfil democracy’s promises succeeds in practice. In this paper, we suggest a criterion of deliberative responsiveness as a measure for representative democracy’s success in fulfilling promises of autonomy, equality and rationality. We go on to show in what respects these promises tend to be
Margaretha Wewerinke‐Singh
Transnational Environmental Law2023peer_reviewed_article30 citations
Abstract This article offers a comprehensive analysis of rights-based climate litigation aimed at addressing climate change-induced loss and damage, underlining its potential as a transformative force amid the minimal progress towards a coordinated global response on this topic. It builds on literature highlighting the potential of rights-based climate litigation to fill the gap in accountability for climate change and its consequences, noting that research to date has not systematically analyzed the remedies that plaintiffs have sought or secured. By focusing on remedy claims, this study illuminates the capacity and the limitations of such litigation to unlock redress for loss and damage while highlighting its reciprocal relationship with international negotiations. This synergy implies a promising trajectory towards a more equitable climate governance framework, despite the complexities and challenges inherent in this rapidly evolving field.
Jérémie Gilbert
Transnational Environmental Law2023peer_reviewed_article26 citations
Abstract Against the backdrop of failing environmental governance, rights of nature (RoN) are lauded as the paradigm shift needed to transform law's approach to nature. RoN have been increasingly proclaimed at the domestic level but remain mostly absent from international law. As examined in this article, this is notably as a result of some profound incompatibilities between international law and RoN, including the fact that most international treaties approach nature as a resource to be owned, exploited or protected for the sake of humans. However, despite this dominant approach to nature, some areas of international law, notably under the leadership of Indigenous peoples, are starting to acknowledge a more relational approach to nature, putting forward concepts of care, kinship, and representation of nature in international law. Building on these developments, this article offers a reflection on potential synergies between RoN and international law, specifically by changing the latter's approach to nature. It argues that some of the RoN concepts concerning duty of care, institutional representation of nature's voice, and ecocentrism could serve as a platform to reinterpret some of the anthropocentric principles of international law, creating some potential synergies between RoN and international law.
Craig Stephen, Chris Walzer
Frontiers in Public Health2023peer_reviewed_article15 citations
Introduction: Unlocking the full potential of different people and organizations to address existential health threats requires shared goals and frameworks that allow people to see themselves contributing to a common and shared continuum of care. A new narrative to help people implement collective action for collective problems is needed. Methods: This paper is draw from the co-authors experience working from the local to international level on planetary health problems. Results: The proposed conceptual framework expands the socioecological model of health to help formulate multilevel approaches that foster healthier circumstances for all by revealing the mutual benefits that emerge from pooling expertise, funding, and political will to solve multiple problems with coordinated investment of resources and effort. It is intended to support program planning and communication. This framework is a response to the absence of systematic attempts to concurrently counteract the social and environmental conditions leading to disease, dysfunction and deficits which is increasingly seen as being problematic, especially as the root causes of health problems and solutions converge across species, sectors, and generations. The framework is embedded in the idea of interspecies and intergenerational health equity. Discussion: Ensuring interspecies and intergenerational health equity requires ea
Felix Ekardt, Philipp Günther, Katharina Hagemann, Beatrice Garske +2
Environmental Sciences Europe2023peer_reviewed_article58 citations
Abstract Beyond climate change, the planet faces several other environmental challenges that are at least as threatening, such as the loss of biodiversity. In each case, the problems are driven by similar factors, such as fossil fuels and intensive livestock farming. This paper presents a legal analysis concerning the binding nature of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) overarching objective to halt biodiversity loss, within the framework of international environmental and human rights law. Using the established legal techniques encompassing grammatical, systematic, teleological, and historical interpretations, the article demonstrates that the CBD’s objective to halt biodiversity loss is indeed legally binding and justiciable. This conclusion is directly drawn from interpreting Article 1 CBD. Furthermore, a comparable obligation emerges indirectly from international climate law. The imperative to curtail biodiversity loss also finds grounding in human rights law, albeit necessitating a re-evaluation of certain aspects of freedom, similar to what has been explored in the context of climate protection. Moreover, the article underscores that various other biodiversity-related regulations within international law, including those laid out in the CBD, the Aichi Targets, and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, also carry partial legal significance. Noneth
Daniel Lindvall, Mikael Karlsson
Climate Policy2023literature_review60 citations
In order to explore the strengths and weaknesses of democracies in mitigating climate change, this article presents a review of more than two decades of research on the democracy-climate nexus. It studies 72 identified articles and book chapters in which correlation analyses between indicators of democracy and climate policy performances have been conducted. The review confirms that democracies tend to generate better climate policy outputs than autocracies, in terms of adoption of policies, laws and regulations. However, there is weak empirical evidence for an association between democratic development and CO2 emission reductions. While empirical evidence shows that democracy can promote decarbonization, aspects such as economic growth, income distribution, energy mix, state capacity and corruption can influence the outcome of decarbonization policy or even counteract it. The research indicates that with deployment of renewable energy, economic activities are increasingly disconnected from fossil fuel dependence, and the political influence of the fossil fuel industry reduced. This process could also enhance the capacity of democracies to accelerate the energy transition and reduce emission levels. Investments in renewable energy, together with policies aiming at combating corruption and accomplishing a fairer wealth distribution, could help to unleash the transformative capac
Mahmoud Elsawy, Marwan Youssef
International Journal of Economics and Finance2023peer_reviewed_article35 citations
This paper examines the concept of economic sustainability in the business context, specifically focusing on how businesses can meet their present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own needs. We explore definitions of economic sustainability, its historical evolution, implementation in business practice, associated challenges, and implications for future generations. The findings indicate that while economic sustainability is increasingly recognised as crucial in business, challenges related to short-termism and lack of awareness persist. The paper concludes by identifying gaps in the current literature and suggesting potential directions for future research. This review contributes to a deeper understanding of economic sustainability and its role in ensuring long-term business success and intergenerational equity.
OECD
OECD eBooks2023report97 citations
Agro-food value chains hold untapped opportunities to help address the youth unemployment problem in Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Expanding and strengthening domestic segments of agro-food value chains in these countries could improve the economic and social well-being of young people and their families; fulfil the demand for more and better agricultural products; and increase the capacity of their economies to face up to the interrelated challenges of optimal resource use, climate change, technological transformation, and disruption of global food value chains. This case is built around three key observations. The first observation is that Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia are in the midst of a demographic transition that can offer unprecedented socio-economic benefits, but which are yet not fully grasped. Currently, children and young people constitute over 49% of the total population in Egypt, 42% in Morocco, and 38% in Tunisia. The coming decades will continue bringing a massive influx of new young entrants into labour markets, demanding good quality jobs. Many of these young workers still live in rural areas, and the vast majority have medium or low levels of skill. Youth unemployment rates in these countries are among the highest in the world, especially for young women. Yet, these young people do aspire for better prospects than their parents did.
Nives Della Valle, Giulia Ulpiani, Nadja Vetters
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications2023peer_reviewed_article24 citations
Abstract This paper sheds light on the importance of evaluating climate justice concerns when forging climate-neutral strategies at the city level. Climate justice can be a useful policy lever to develop measures that promote simultaneously greenhouse gas emissions reductions and their social justice dimension, thus reducing the risk of adverse impacts. As a result, evaluating policymakers’ awareness of (i) recognition (ii) distributive (iii) procedural, and (iv) intergenerational issues about the transition to climate neutrality might help identify where to intervene to ensure that decisions towards more sustainable urban futures are born justly and equitably. This study uses data from the European Mission on 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 and a principal component analysis to build an index of climate justice awareness. It then identifies control factors behind different levels of climate justice awareness. The empirical analysis suggests that the more cities are engaged in climate efforts, the more they implement these efforts considering also the social justice dimension. It also reveals that the geographical location and the relationship with higher levels of governance contribute to shape the heterogeneity in a just-considerate climate action by virtue of different governance structures, historical legacies, and economic, cultural, and political characterist
Bethuel Sibongiseni Ngcamu
Natural Hazards2023literature_review270 citations
Abstract The climate and environmental changes in the Global South have devastating effects on vulnerable populations, which have been perpetuated by socio-economic and political as well as gender inequalities and non-existent interventions to adapt and mitigate its adverse effects. Underpinned by the Protection Motivation Theory and Social-Cognitive Preparation model, this systematic literature review article depicts how vulnerable populations are impacted by climate change in the Global South. Using the empirical data from credible databases including the Web of Science and Scopus, 23 articles published since 2018 were searched, retrieved, coded, and classified with three themes emerging from the synthesised literature. The analysis of the literature confirms that climate change indeed impacts vulnerable populations adversely; the adaptability mechanisms are not applied by governments which are contrary to the international frameworks; and lastly, that such groups are discriminated against, undermined, and overlooked in societal programmes and interventions to mitigate the impacts of climate-induced disasters. Climate change impacts have severely destroyed the livelihoods of vulnerable populations and are exacerbated by socio-economic and political inequalities, with the adaptation and mitigation mechanisms deemed ineffective. Gaps in current research studies include the pauc
Sophie Howe, Don Nutbeam
Public Health Research & Practice2023peer_reviewed_article5 citations
In 2016, Wales became the first country in the world to appoint a Future Generations Commissioner - in essence a 'guardian' of the interests of future generations - under its Well-being Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The Act puts in place seven long-term wellbeing goals: a prosperous Wales; a resilient Wales; a more equal Wales; a healthier Wales; a Wales of cohesive communities; a Wales of vibrant culture & thriving Welsh language; and a globally responsible Wales. The Act also defines five 'ways of working' or principles that public bodies must demonstrate in decision making: thinking for the long-term, prevention; integration; collaboration; and involvement. The inaugural Commissioner, Sophie Howe, who held the role for seven years, reflects on the challenges and successes of leading transformational change to achieve a whole-of-government focus on wellbeing across policy and practice. In this interview with PHRP Editor-in-Chief Don Nutbeam, she shares some of the key lessons learned during her time in the role, including the need to embed the future generations approach in law, to set holistic, long-term goals - and to avoid blindly following measures and metrics.
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme eBooks2023report101 citations
This report, which updates previous United Nations Environment Programme reports published in 2017 and 2020, provides an overview of the current state of climate change litigation and an update of global climate change litigation trends. It provides judges, lawyers, advocates, policymakers, researchers, environmental defenders, climate activists, human rights activists (including women’s rights activists), NGOs, businesses and the international community at large with an essential resource to understand the current state of global climate litigation, including descriptions of the key issues that courts have faced in the course of climate change cases. This report further demonstrates the importance of an environmental rule of law in combating the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Access to justice enables the protection of environmental law and human rights and promotes accountability in public institutions. The report was launched in conjunction with the anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s recognition of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (A/RES/76/300), as the majority of cases brought before the courts demonstrate concrete links between human rights and climate change. The UNGA resolution, which recognises that climate change impacts have negative implications on the enjoyment of all huma
Lisa Dellmuth, Karina Shyrokykh
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change2023peer_reviewed_article26 citations
Abstract There is increasing public debate about the governance of climate change and its repercussions for nature and human livelihoods. In today's digitalized communication landscape, both public and private actors involved in climate change governance use social media to provide information and to interact with stakeholders and the broader public. This Focus Article discusses two main aspects of debates about climate change and climate governance on Twitter, which previous theories suggest to shape climate governance across domestic and global levels: non‐state climate action and public opinion formation on the social media. We see significant advancement in the environmental social sciences studying these two areas. Yet, we also see the need for a better understanding of how public and private actors in the climate governance complex interact on Twitter, and how these actors shape, and are shaped by, experiences, values, and positions. This understanding will help to advance climate governance theories. This article proceeds in three steps. We first discuss previous social media research on non‐state climate action and public opinion formation related to climate change and its governance. Then we sketch avenues for future research, elaborating how Twitter data might be used to investigate how non‐state climate action and public opinion formation on social media are linked t
Enikő Krajnyák
Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Law = Agrár- és Környezetjog2023peer_reviewed_article5 citations
The study analyzes the position and the work of the Hungarian Ombudsman for Future Generations in light of the global development of the institutional protection of future generations. The Hungarian model has an outstanding role both at the domestic and international levels: not only does it influence environmental protection in the country but it could also serve as a role model for similar institutions to be established in other countries in the future. The paper gives an overview of the institutional protection of future generations in international law and introduces the historical development and the legislative framework for the establishment of the institution in Hungary, and lastly, briefly presents the different rights and duties of the Ombudsman with a particular focus on recent achievements and initiatives.
Thilagawathi Abi Deivanayagam, Sonora English, Jason Hickel, Jon Bonifacio +10
The Lancet2023literature_review199 citations
Climate change has a broad range of health impacts and tackling climate change could be the greatest opportunity for improving global health this century. Yet conversations on climate change and health are often incomplete, giving little attention to structural discrimination and the need for racial justice. Racism kills, and climate change kills. Together, racism and climate change interact and have disproportionate effects on the lives of minoritised people both within countries and between the Global North and the Global South. This paper has three main aims. First, to survey the literature on the unequal health impacts of climate change due to racism, xenophobia, and discrimination through a scoping review. We found that racially minoritised groups, migrants, and Indigenous communities face a disproportionate burden of illness and mortality due to climate change in different contexts. Second, this paper aims to highlight inequalities in responsibility for climate change and the effects thereof. A geographical visualisation of responsibility for climate change and projected mortality and disease risk attributable to climate change per 100 000 people in 2050 was conducted. These maps visualise the disproportionate burden of illness and mortality due to climate change faced by the Global South. Our third aim is to highlight the pathways through which climate change, discrimina
Gianluigi Palombella
Kutafin Law Review2023peer_reviewed_article9 citations
The article revolves around the question whether, given some very “fundamental threats” to future generations’ living, their very conditions of survival can be construed as rights. The issue has to tackle the problem of the non-existence of the presumptive holders of such a right, as well as with the problem of their (non-)identity. The article shows the reasons for separating what we owe to future persons under the challenge of some fundamental threats for humanity from our will to hand down our cultural and ethical ideas of the good information and eventually from paternalistic or selfish imposition upon future generations of our irreversible choices. The framework refers essentially to a conceptual grammar of justice. Moreover, it is suggested to articulate rights through the lens of “disposability” and “non-disposability” principles.
Curtis M. Jolly, Beatrice Nyandat, Zhengyong Yang, Neil B. Ridler +4
Journal of the World Aquaculture Society2023peer_reviewed_article77 citations
Abstract Aquaculture is a growing industry with an annual growth rate that is far superior to the population growth rate. Most production occurs in lower‐ and middle‐income countries, and therefore, they can improve the efficiency and modernize the production systems to increase exports to earn foreign exchange earnings for economic and social development. The institutional arrangements should be part of the mechanisms that ensure sustainable aquaculture growth, through the participation of all stakeholders. Sustainability is possible with good and dynamic governance through which the industry embraces the basic principles of governance, equity, accountability, efficiency, and predictability. Over the past decade, several countries made changes in governance and implemented regulations through their action plans to improve aquaculture productivity, and stakeholders profited from the changes made along the value chain. For the producers to benefit from the value‐added products, they complied with the regulations imposed by the importing countries, international regulatory bodies, or their own consumers. Standards increased, and the implementation of certification resulted in changes in the industrial structure. These standards, which inflict regulatory cost on producers, stimulated an improvement in productivity and product quality. However, during the last decade, production gr
Bernd Carsten Stahl, Laurence Brooks, Tally Hatzakis, Nicole Santiago +1
Technological Forecasting and Social Change2023peer_reviewed_article80 citations
Ethical and human rights issues of artificial intelligence (AI) are a prominent topic of research and innovation policy as well as societal and scientific debate. It is broadly recognised that AI-related technologies have properties that can give rise to ethical and human rights concerns, such as privacy, bias and discrimination, safety and security, economic distribution, political participation or the changing nature of warfare. Numerous ways of addressing these issues have been suggested. In light of the complexity of this discussion, we undertook a Delphi study with experts in the field to determine the most pressing issues and prioritise appropriate mitigation strategies. The results of the study demonstrate the difficulty of defining clear priorities. Our findings suggest that the debate around ethics and human rights of AI would benefit from being reframed and more strongly emphasising the systems nature of AI ecosystems.
Amanda Machin
Politische Vierteljahresschrift2023peer_reviewed_article45 citations
Stymied by preoccupation with short-term interests of individualist consumers, democratic institutions seem unable to generate sustained political commitment for tackling climate change. The citizens' assembly (CA) is promoted as an important tool in combatting this "democratic myopia." The aim of a CA is to bring together a representative group of citizens and experts from diverse backgrounds to exchange their different insights and perspectives on a complex issue. By providing the opportunity for inclusive democratic deliberation, the CA is expected to educate citizens, stimulate awareness of complex issues, and produce enlightened and legitimate policy recommendations. However, critical voices warn about the simplified and celebratory commentary surrounding the CA. Informed by agonistic and radical democratic theory, this paper elaborates on a particular concern, which is the orientation toward consensus in the CA. The paper points to the importance of disagreement in the form of both agony (from inside) and rupture (from outside) that, it is argued, is crucial for a democratic, engaging, passionate, creative, and representative sustainability politics.
Riccardo Luporini, Annalisa Savaresi
Review of European Comparative & International Environmental Law2023peer_reviewed_article17 citations
Abstract This article systematically analyses complaints concerning climate change before international human rights bodies. Since 2005, these bodies have been increasingly asked to hear complaints related to climate change but have granted claims of climate applicants only on one occasion. This article therefore considers the inherent limitations of international human rights bodies for the pursuit of climate objectives, as well as avenues to overcome the hurdles facing climate applicants. Based on the evidence we examined, we conclude making some predictions on the role that international human rights bodies might play in future climate litigation.
Eleni Theodorou, Spyros Spyrou, Georgina Christou
Journal of Childhood Studies2023peer_reviewed_article16 citations
This paper draws on data from a qualitative study of youth climate activists in Cyprus to explore the notion of temporality implied in how youth interrogate intergenerational relations in the context of their struggle against climate change and the tensions therein. Acknowledging the structural age inequalities that limit their actions, youth activists drew on multiple temporal frames of present, future, and past to delineate a sense of urgency for action to prevent an irreversible catastrophe in the future and to forge a future of hope. In the process, they invited other/older generations to the climate struggle, an opening that came with expressions of ambivalence among some activists.
Bengt Sandin, Jonathan Josefsson, Karl Hanson, Sarada Balagopalan
Studies in childhood and youth2023report22 citations
This open access book investigates children and youth's deep entanglement in today's major global, national, and local transformations and processes.