Levers and leverage points for pathways to sustainability

Kai Chan, David Boyd, Rachelle Gould, Jens Jetzkowitz, Jianguo Liu, Barbara Muraca, Robin Naidoo, Paige Olmsted, Terre Satterfield, Odirilwe Selomane, Gerald Singh, Rashid Sumaila, Hien Ngo, Agni Klintuni Boedhihartono, John Agard, Ana Paula D. de Aguiar, Dolors Armenteras, Lenke Balint, Christopher Barrington-Leigh, William Cheung, Sandra Díaz, John Driscoll, Karen Esler, Harold Eyster, Edward Gregr, Shizuka Hashimoto, Gladys Cecilia Hernández Pedraza, Thomas Hickler, Marcel Kok, Tanya Lazarova, Assem Mohamed, Mike Murray-Hudson, Patrick O'Farrell, Ignacio Palomo (), Ali Kerem Saysel, Ralf Seppelt, Josef Settele, Bernardo Strassburg, Dayuan Xue and Eduardo Brondízio
Additional contact information
Kai Chan: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
David Boyd: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Jens Jetzkowitz: Museum für Naturkunde [Berlin]
Robin Naidoo: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada], World Wildlife Fund, Washington
Paige Olmsted: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Terre Satterfield: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Gerald Singh: Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Rashid Sumaila: Fisheries economics research unit - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Hien Ngo: IPBES - Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Agni Klintuni Boedhihartono: UBC Faculty of Forestry - Faculty of Forestry [Vancouver] - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Ana Paula D. de Aguiar: Stockholm Resilience Centre - Stockholm University, INPE - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais [Sao José dos Campos, Brasil] = National Institute for Space Research [Sao José dos Campos, Brazil] - MCTI - Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation [Brazil] = Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação [Brasil]
Lenke Balint: BirdLife International
Christopher Barrington-Leigh: Institute for Health and Social Policy
William Cheung: Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Sandra Díaz: CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas [Buenos Aires]
John Driscoll: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Karen Esler: Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology - SU - Stellenbosch University - Universiteit Stellenbosch [South Africa]
Harold Eyster: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Edward Gregr: Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability - UBC - University of British Columbia [Canada]
Thomas Hickler: SBiK-F - Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre - Goethe University Frankfurt = Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main - Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research - Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung - LG / WGL - Leibniz Association = Leibniz Gemeinschaft = Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Marcel Kok: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Tanya Lazarova: PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Assem Mohamed: ARC - Agricultural Research Center
Mike Murray-Hudson: Okavango Research Institute - UB - University of Botswana
Ignacio Palomo: LECA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine - USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry] - Université Savoie Mont Blanc - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Fédération OSUG - Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, BC3 - Basque Centre for Climate Change
Ralf Seppelt: UFZ - Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Institute of Geoscience & Geography - MLU - Martin-Luther-Universität Halle Wittenberg - Martin-Luther-University Halle Wittenberg
Josef Settele: iDiv - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, UFZ - Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Bernardo Strassburg: IIS - International Institute for Sustainability
Eduardo Brondízio: Department of Anthropology [Indiana University] - Indiana University [Bloomington] - Indiana University System

Post-Print from HAL

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.

Keywords: human population size; biodiversity; ecosystem services; governance interventions; relational values; policy; indirect drivers; Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-07-23
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04894515v1
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Published in People and Nature, 2020, 2 (3), pp.693-717. ⟨10.1002/pan3.10124⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04894515

DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10124

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