Levers and leverage points for pathways to sustainability

Abstract

Humanity is on a deeply unsustainable trajectory. We are exceeding planetary boundaries and unlikely to meet many international sustainable development goals and global environmental targets. Until recently, there was no broadly accepted framework of interventions that could ignite the transformations needed to achieve these desired targets and goals. As a component of the IPBES Global Assessment, we conducted an iterative expert deliberation process with an extensive review of scenarios and pathways to sustainability, including the broader literature on indirect drivers, social change and sustainability transformation. We asked, what are the most important elements of pathways to sustainability? Applying a social–ecological systems lens, we identified eight priority points for intervention (leverage points) and five overarching strategic actions and priority interventions (levers), which appear to be key to societal transformation. The eight leverage points are: (1) Visions of a good life, (2) Total consumption and waste, (3) Latent values of responsibility, (4) Inequalities, (5) Justice and inclusion in conservation, (6) Externalities from trade and other telecouplings, (7) Responsible technology, innovation and investment, and (8) Education and knowledge generation and sharing. The five intertwined levers can be applied across the eight leverage points and more broadly. These include: (A) Incentives and capacity building, (B) Coordination across sectors and jurisdictions, (C) Pre‐emptive action, (D) Adaptive decision‐making and (E) Environmental law and implementation. The levers and leverage points are all non‐substitutable, and each enables others, likely leading to synergistic benefits. Transformative change towards sustainable pathways requires more than a simple scaling‐up of sustainability initiatives—it entails addressing these levers and leverage points to change the fabric of legal, political, economic and other social systems. These levers and leverage points build upon those approved within the Global Assessment's Summary for Policymakers, with the aim of enabling leaders in government, business, civil society and academia to spark transformative changes towards a more just and sustainable world. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Mountain Biodiversity Is Central to Sustainable Development in Mountains and Beyond

“…These strategies must acknowledge the manifold interactions between nature and people across a wide range of spatial scales and account for them by promoting measures and instruments to conserve and sustainably manage and use biodiversity in ways that are tailored to the relevant scales. 19 Recent assessments of the state of and trends in biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide have taught us that transformative change is most likely to happen if diverse actors prioritize a common set of entry points for interventions. 1,19 These actors include intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, governments, citizen and community groups, Indigenous peoples and local communities, donor agencies, science and educational organizations, and the private sector.…”

“…19 Recent assessments of the state of and trends in biodiversity and ecosystems worldwide have taught us that transformative change is most likely to happen if diverse actors prioritize a common set of entry points for interventions. 1,19 These actors include intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, governments, citizen and community groups, Indigenous peoples and local communities, donor agencies, science and educational organizations, and the private sector. A key entry point is addressing the mismatch between the places that benefit from biodiversity and those that bear the costs of conserving it.…”

The maturation of ecosystem services: Social and policy research expands, but whither biophysically informed valuation?

“…When ES research is not designed optimally to facilitate knowledge and reflection about the values associated with nature, or to aid environmental decisions, it offers only compromised support in responding to the current ecological crisis. ES research in this form is thus of limited utility to efforts to shift societal trajectories and decisions that undermine nature and its widespread and equitable benefits (Chan et al, 2020; IPBES, 2019a).…”

Food after the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Case for Change Posed by Alternative Food: A Case Study of the American Midwest

“…Their value comes from their embeddedness within the complex dynamics of functioning food systems: inhabited by real participants; informed by genuine goals, values, identities, and economies; and responsive to changes in the social, economic, and ecological environment. A just, sustainable food system will support equitable human thriving across diverse social, ecosystem, and economic circumstances, but it will necessitate, in the words of Chan et al (2020), “change [in] the fabric of legal, political, economic and other social systems,” the sort of transition envisioned by Aglietta (1979) and Friedman and McMichael (1989).…”