The Wicked Problem of Climate Change: A New Approach Based on Social Mess and Fragmentation

Jiazhe Sun and Kaizhong Yang
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Jiazhe Sun: School of Government, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Kaizhong Yang: School of Government, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: The 21st century has been the warmest period on record since 1880, making the problem of climate change a central issue in the global political arena. While most approaches to climate change emphasize setting and imposing thresholds for greenhouse gas emissions, this paper argues that the issue of climate change and its solutions should be viewed in a more dynamic and complex way, involving social messes and the fragmentation of industries and organizations. In this context, learning models can offer a starting point to understand the reasons why organizations engage in certain types of corporate environmental strategies with regard to climate change, and can help in the search for solutions to the problem of climate change.

Keywords: climate change; wicked problem; social mess; fragmentation; learning models; complexity theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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