Promises and Risks of Nonstate Actions in Climate and Sustainability Governance
(2019) In Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 10(3). p.1-8- Abstract
- Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement stand as milestone diplomatic achievements. However, immense discrepancies between political commitments and governmental action remain. Combined national climate commitments fall far short of the Paris Agreement's 1.5/2°C targets. Similar political ambition gaps persist across various areas of sustainable development. Many therefore argue that actions by nonstate actors, such as businesses and investors, cities and regions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are crucial. These voices have resonated across the United Nations (UN) system, leading to growing recognition, promotion, and mobilization of such actions in ever greater numbers. This article investigates optimistic... (More)
- Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement stand as milestone diplomatic achievements. However, immense discrepancies between political commitments and governmental action remain. Combined national climate commitments fall far short of the Paris Agreement's 1.5/2°C targets. Similar political ambition gaps persist across various areas of sustainable development. Many therefore argue that actions by nonstate actors, such as businesses and investors, cities and regions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are crucial. These voices have resonated across the United Nations (UN) system, leading to growing recognition, promotion, and mobilization of such actions in ever greater numbers. This article investigates optimistic arguments about nonstate engagement, namely: (a) “the more the better”; (b) “everybody wins”; (c) “everyone does their part”; and (d) “more brings more.” However, these optimistic arguments may not be matched in practice due to governance risks. The current emphasis on quantifiable impacts may lead to the under-appreciation of variegated social, economic, and environmental impacts. Claims that everybody stands to benefit may easily be contradicted by outcomes that are not in line with priorities and needs in developing countries. Despite the seeming depoliticization of the role of nonstate actors in implementation, actions may still lead to politically contentious outcomes. Finally, nonstate climate and sustainability actions may not be self-reinforcing but may heavily depend on supporting mechanisms. The article concludes with governance risk-reduction strategies that can be combined to maximize nonstate potential in sustainable and climate-resilient transformations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/7815eeb8-c6e0-4e70-864d-1761611b870f
- author
- Chan, Sander
; Boran, Idil
; van Asselt, Harro
; Iacobuta, Gabriela
; Niles, Navam
; Rietig, Katharine
; Scobie, Michelle
; Bansard, Jennifer
; Delgado Pugley, Deborah
; Delina, Laurence L.
; Eichhorn, Friederike
; Ellinger, Paula
; Enechi, Okechukwu
; Hale, Thomas
; Hickmann, Thomas
LU
; Hermwille, Lukas
; Honegger, Matthias
; Hurtado Epstein, Andrea
; La Hoz Theuer, Stephanie
; Mizo, Robert
; Sun, Yixian
; Toussaint, Patrick
and Wambugu, Geoffrey
(Less) - publishing date
- 2019
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Climate change, Governance, Non-state actors, SDGs, Sustainable development
- in
- Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 3
- article number
- e572
- pages
- 8 pages
- publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85059509847
- ISSN
- 1757-7799
- DOI
- 10.1002/WCC.572
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 7815eeb8-c6e0-4e70-864d-1761611b870f
- date added to LUP
- 2022-06-17 12:48:05
- date last changed
- 2023-04-18 22:25:27
@article{7815eeb8-c6e0-4e70-864d-1761611b870f,
abstract = {{Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement stand as milestone diplomatic achievements. However, immense discrepancies between political commitments and governmental action remain. Combined national climate commitments fall far short of the Paris Agreement's 1.5/2°C targets. Similar political ambition gaps persist across various areas of sustainable development. Many therefore argue that actions by nonstate actors, such as businesses and investors, cities and regions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), are crucial. These voices have resonated across the United Nations (UN) system, leading to growing recognition, promotion, and mobilization of such actions in ever greater numbers. This article investigates optimistic arguments about nonstate engagement, namely: (a) “the more the better”; (b) “everybody wins”; (c) “everyone does their part”; and (d) “more brings more.” However, these optimistic arguments may not be matched in practice due to governance risks. The current emphasis on quantifiable impacts may lead to the under-appreciation of variegated social, economic, and environmental impacts. Claims that everybody stands to benefit may easily be contradicted by outcomes that are not in line with priorities and needs in developing countries. Despite the seeming depoliticization of the role of nonstate actors in implementation, actions may still lead to politically contentious outcomes. Finally, nonstate climate and sustainability actions may not be self-reinforcing but may heavily depend on supporting mechanisms. The article concludes with governance risk-reduction strategies that can be combined to maximize nonstate potential in sustainable and climate-resilient transformations.}},
author = {{Chan, Sander and Boran, Idil and van Asselt, Harro and Iacobuta, Gabriela and Niles, Navam and Rietig, Katharine and Scobie, Michelle and Bansard, Jennifer and Delgado Pugley, Deborah and Delina, Laurence L. and Eichhorn, Friederike and Ellinger, Paula and Enechi, Okechukwu and Hale, Thomas and Hickmann, Thomas and Hermwille, Lukas and Honegger, Matthias and Hurtado Epstein, Andrea and La Hoz Theuer, Stephanie and Mizo, Robert and Sun, Yixian and Toussaint, Patrick and Wambugu, Geoffrey}},
issn = {{1757-7799}},
keywords = {{Climate change; Governance; Non-state actors; SDGs; Sustainable development}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{1--8}},
publisher = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
series = {{Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change}},
title = {{Promises and Risks of Nonstate Actions in Climate and Sustainability Governance}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/WCC.572}},
doi = {{10.1002/WCC.572}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2019}},
}