Policy design for the Anthropocene
Journal article, 2019
Today, more than ever, ‘Spaceship Earth’ is an apt metaphor as we chart the boundaries for a safe planet1. Social scientists both analyse why society courts disaster by approaching or even overstepping these boundaries and try to design suitable policies to avoid these perils. Because the threats of transgressing planetary boundaries are global, long-run, uncertain and interconnected, they must be analysed together to avoid conflicts and take advantage of synergies. To obtain policies that are effective at both international and local levels requires careful analysis of the underlying mechanisms across scientific disciplines and approaches, and must take politics into account. In this Perspective, we examine the complexities of designing policies that can keep Earth within the biophysical limits favourable to human life.
Author
Thomas Sterner
University of Gothenburg
Edward B. Barbier
Colorado State University
Ian Bateman
University of Exeter
Inge van den Bijgaart
University of Gothenburg
Anne Sophie Crépin
Stockholm University
The Royal Swedish Academy of Science
Ottmar Edenhofer
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)
Technische Universität Berlin
Carolyn Fischer
Resources For The Future
Wolfgang Habla
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH
John Hassler
University of Gothenburg
Stockholm University
Olof Johansson-Stenman
University of Gothenburg
Andreas Lange
University of Hamburg
Stephen Polasky
University of Minnesota
Johan Rockström
Stockholm University
Henrik G. Smith
Lund University
Will Steffen
Stockholm University
Australian National University
Gernot Wagner
Harvard University
James E. Wilen
University of California
Francisco Alpizar
Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza
Christian Azar
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Physical Resource Theory
Donna Carless
University of Exeter
Carlos Chávez
University of Talca
Jessica Coria
University of Gothenburg
Gustav Engström
The Royal Swedish Academy of Science
Sverker C. Jagers
University of Gothenburg
Gunnar Köhlin
University of Gothenburg
Åsa Löfgren
University of Gothenburg
Håkan Pleijel
University of Gothenburg
Amanda Robinson
University of Exeter
Nature Sustainability
23989629 (eISSN)
Vol. 2 1 14-21Subject Categories
Social Sciences Interdisciplinary
Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
DOI
10.1038/s41893-018-0194-x