Sustainable Systems Transformations away from the Permanent Multi-Crisis

Phoebe Koundouri, Angelos Alamanos, Giannis Arampatzidis and Lydia Papadaki ()
Additional contact information
Phoebe Koundouri: Dept. of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business

No 2601, DEOS Working Papers from Athens University of Economics and Business

Abstract: The current "multi-crisis" is not a set of separate shocks but a tightly interconnected system of climate and biodiversity pressures, food-energy-water insecurity, macroeconomic fragility, widening inequalities, rapid urbanization, and geopolitical stress. While the SDGs provide an integrated blueprint for action, progress remains insufficient, pointing to a persistent gap between global ambition and operational delivery. This study argues that closing this gap requires a practical Global Commons for implementation, one that can translate policy choices and investments into measurable outcomes, account for cross-sector feedbacks, and support locally feasible pathways. We present the Global Climate Hub (GCH), an AE4RIA-SDSN anchored initiative that combines physical and socio-economic modelling with policy-relevant modelling and participatory co-design. The GCH methodology is organized in three stages: (i) continuous SDG measurement through harmonized data pipelines, spatial diagnostics, and digital twins; (ii) co-designed transformation pathways generated through living labs and coupled model chains (energy, land use, water risk, transport, health, and beyond-GDP welfare and trade outcomes) to quantify synergies, trade-offs, and distributional effects; and (iii) financing, equity, and capacity-building mechanisms that connect pathways to investable roadmaps and strengthen the skills required for sustained implementation. By integrating quantification with stakeholder ownership and open decision-support tools, the GCH positions modelling as a practical instrument for policy prototyping, learning, and course correction. The approach is directly relevant to the evidence mandate of the 2027 Global Sustainable Development Report, offering a pathway-oriented basis for accelerating SDG implementation to 2030 and informing longer-term transformation beyond it.

Keywords: Global Climate Hub; sustainable transformation; systems transformation; stakeholder engagement; sustainable pathways (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01-09
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://wpa.deos.aueb.gr/docs/2601.SystemsTransformations.pdf First version (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aue:wpaper:2601

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in DEOS Working Papers from Athens University of Economics and Business Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Ekaterini Glynou ().