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{{Short description|Social science research programme}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Primary sources|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox organization
|name=
|abbreviation=ESG Project
|logo=Logo Earth System Governance Project.png
|founder=Developed under [[International Human Dimensions Programme|IHDP]]
|type=[[Nonprofit organization]], network or alliance
|formation={{start date and age|2009}} (planning phase 2006-2008)
|region_served=Worldwide
|website= {{URL|https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/}}
|focus=Support the research community for [[earth system governance]] through networking, task forces, conferences, publications
|method=
|headquarters=[[Utrecht University]], The Netherlands (from 2019 onwards)
|leader_title=Co-chairs
|leader_name=Cristina Inoue and Jonathan Pickering
|funding=Various (for example [[Lund University]], [[Utrecht University]], Earth System Governance Foundation)
}}
The '''Earth System Governance Project''' (or '''ESG Project''' in short) is a research network that builds on the work from about a dozen research centers and hundreds of researchers studying [[earth system governance]]. It is a long-term, interdisciplinary [[social science]] research alliance. Its origins are an international program called the [[International Human Dimensions Programme|International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change]].<ref name=":11">Biermann, Frank, Michele M. Betsill, Joyeeta Gupta, Norichika Kanie, Louis Lebel, Diana Liverman, Heike Schroeder, and Bernd Siebenhüner, with contributions from Ken Conca, Leila da Costa Ferreira, Bharat Desai, Simon Tay, and Ruben Zondervan (2009) [https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Biermann-et-al.-2009-Earth-System-Governance-People-Places-and-the-Planet.-Science-and-Implementation-Plan-of-the-Earth-System-Gove.pdf Earth System Governance: People, Places and the Planet. Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project]. Earth System Governance Report 1, IHDP Report 20. Bonn, IHDP: The Earth System Governance Project.</ref> The ESG Project started in January 2009.<ref name=":11" /> Over time, it has evolved into a broader research alliance that builds on an international network of research centers, lead faculty and research fellows. It is now the largest social science research network in the area of [[governance]] and global environmental change.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dryzek |first=John S. |date=2016 |title=Institutions for the Anthropocene: Governance in a Changing Earth System |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0007123414000453/type/journal_article |journal=British Journal of Political Science|volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=937–956 |doi=10.1017/S0007123414000453 |issn=0007-1234}}</ref>
[[Utrecht University]] in the Netherlands has hosted the secretariat, called ''International Project Office'', from 2019 to 2024.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=International Project Office |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/international-project-office-esg/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> Previously the secretariat was at [[United Nations University]] in Bonn, Germany (from 2009 to 2012) and at [[Lund University]], Sweden (from 2012 to 2018).
== Aims ==
The ESG Project aims to "Expand the global mobilization of earth system governance researchers; stimulate and facilitate research collaborations; Inform and advise at the science-policy interface."<ref name=":4">Earth System Governance Project (2022) [https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/publication/2022-annual-report/ Annual Report 2022 of Earth System Governance Project], University of Utrecht</ref>{{rp|5}}
The project also examines problems of the [[global commons]], as well as more local problems such as [[air pollution]], [[water pollution]], [[desertification]] and [[soil degradation]].<ref name=":5" /> Due to natural interdependencies, local environmental pollution can be transformed into global changes. Therefore, the ESG Project looks at institutions and governance processes both local and globally.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=What is Earth System Governance? {{!}} Future Earth |url=https://futureearth.org/2013/07/15/what-is-earth-system-governance/ |access-date=2024-07-22}}</ref>
== Structure ==
=== Members ===
[[File:Growth in ESG member scholars over time.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Growth in ESG member scholars over time, culminating in 557 scholars formally associated with the network as of 2023.<ref name="AnnualPlan2023" />{{rp|11}}]]
The ESG Project currently (as of 2024) has 557 members (also called ''[[Research fellow|research fellows]]''), who come from 57 countries from all continents. There are around 2500 scholars who engage with the network indirectly via [[social media]] and the newsletter.<ref name="AnnualPlan2023">Earth System Governance Project (2023) [https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/news/2023-annual-report/ Annual Report 2023], Earth System Governance International Project Office at Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University</ref>{{rp|12}} This global network of experts consists of people from different academic and cultural backgrounds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find an expert |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/find-an-expert/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Secretariat ===
The secretariat, called ''International Project Office'' (IPO) is hosted at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at the Faculty of Geosciences, [[Utrecht University]], The Netherlands.<ref name=":0" /> It usually has three staff members.
The secretariat ensures the functioning of this virtual international network. It is the "focal point for management and administration, as well as for the communication and network development efforts of the ESG Project".
=== Scientific steering committee and chairs ===
The ESG Project operates under the direction of a ''Scientific Steering Committee'' (SSC).<ref name=":6" /> The role of this committee is to guide the implementation of the ''Earth System Governance Science Plan''. For the first ten years, until 2018, the committee was chaired by [[Frank Biermann]], the network’s founder. Since 2019, the committee relies on system of rotating leadership, with two co-chairs elected for two years.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/ssc/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref> The scientific steering committee currently has 13 members (as of 2024) from diverse disciplines and geographical regions.<ref name=":4" />{{rp|7}}
=== Science and implementation plans ===
An international group of experts came together in 2006 in the ''Scientific Planning Committee'', chaired by Frank Biermann. This committee wrote the first ''Science and Implementation Plan'' drawing on input for various drafts discussed at global events and conferences. Many scholars and practitioners contributed ideas, advice, and feedback.<ref name=":11" />{{rp|7}} In 2009, this first science plan was published.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":52">{{Cite journal |last=Biermann |first=Frank |last2=Betsill |first2=Michele M |last3=Vieira |first3=Susana Camargo |last4=Gupta |first4=Joyeeta |last5=Kanie |first5=Norichika |last6=Lebel |first6=Louis |last7=Liverman |first7=Diana |last8=Schroeder |first8=Heike |last9=Siebenhüner |first9=Bernd |last10=Yanda |first10=Pius Z |last11=Zondervan |first11=Ruben |date=2010 |title=Navigating the anthropocene: the Earth System Governance Project strategy paper |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1877343510000217 |journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability |language=en |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=202–208 |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2010.04.005}}</ref> In this plan, the conceptual problems, cross-cutting themes, flagship projects, and its policy relevance were outlined in detail.
Since 2014,  discussions have been held at conferences around a new science and implementation plan. In 2016 a group of lead authors was selected. After extensive review by the Earth System Governance community, the second ''Science and Implementation Plan'' was launched at the 2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance.<ref name=":3">Earth System Governance Project. 2018. [https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Earth-System-Governance-Science-Plan-2018.pdf Earth System Governance. Science and Implementation Plan of the Earth System Governance Project] (second science and implementation plan). Utrecht, the Netherlands</ref>{{rp|8}}
== Funding sources ==
The [[United States National Science Foundation|National Science Foundation]] of the United States provided about US$15,000 each year since 2015 via [[Future Earth]], an international research platform. This money supports annual meetings of the scientific steering committee.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Biermann |first=Frank |last2=Betsill |first2=Michele M |last3=Burch |first3=Sarah |last4=Dryzek |first4=John |last5=Gordon |first5=Christopher |last6=Gupta |first6=Aarti |last7=Gupta |first7=Joyeeta |last8=Inoue |first8=Cristina |last9=Kalfagianni |first9=Agni |last10=Kanie |first10=Norichika |last11=Olsson |first11=Lennart |last12=Persson |first12=Åsa |last13=Schroeder |first13=Heike |last14=Scobie |first14=Michelle |date=2019 |title=The Earth System Governance Project as a network organization: a critical assessment after ten years |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1877343518301611 |journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability|volume=39 |pages=17–23 |doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2019.04.004}}</ref>
The project does not charge membership fees. Several universities support the project financially, as does the Earth System Governance Foundation''.'' This foundation is a "non-profit charitable organization under Dutch law, created to help channel support from a variety of sources to the earth system governance research community".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Earth System Governance Foundation |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/earth-system-governance-foundation/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
Funding for the secretariat has been provided from three universities so far who have each hosted the secretariat for several years:
* 2009: in the first year, the secretariat was located within the secretariat of the International Human Dimensions Programme<ref name=":6" />
* 2009 to 2011: [[United Nations University]] in Bonn, Germany
* 2011 to 2018: [[Lund University]], Sweden (with support by the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)<ref name=":6" />
* 2019 to 2024: [[Utrecht University]] in The Netherlands (with core funding by Utrecht's Faculty of Geosciences)<ref name=":6" />
In September 2023, the ESG Project launched an open call inviting institutions to submit bids to become the next host of the secretariat. The ESG Project has been assessing bids on a continuous basis since 15 December 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Open Call: The Earth System Governance Research Alliance invites expressions of interest to host its International Project Office |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/news/the-earth-system-governance-research-alliance-invites-expressions-of-interest-to-host-its-international-project-office/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Activities ==
=== Global networking with research centers ===
The ESG Project is supported by a global alliance of ESG centers, with 17 universities and institutes being involved.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Research Centres |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/research-centres/ |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref> Many of these universities have hosted the annual conferences of the ESG Project, including the universities of [[University of East Anglia|East Anglia]], [[VU Amsterdam]], [[Australian National University]] in Canberra, [[Colorado State University]], Lund University, [[University of Nairobi]], [[Radboud University Nijmegen]], [[Tokyo Institute of Technology]], [[University of Toronto]], and Utrecht University.
=== Publications ===
There are four major publication series of the ESG Project:
* The ''Journal Earth System Governance'' was launched in 2019 (an open access publication with [[Elsevier]]). There are 24 volumes as of August 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Journal Earth System Governance |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/earth-system-governance |access-date=18 July 2024 |website=Science Direct}}</ref> The journal is open access and designed to integrate discourses from local to global in governance research, with a focus on earth-system processes. According to the journal’s publisher, the [[CiteScore]] of this journal is currently 9.0 and its [[Impact factor|Impact Factor]] is 4.4.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Insights - Earth System Governance {{!}} ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/earth-system-governance/about/insights |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.sciencedirect.com}}</ref> The journal's [[h-index]] is 19.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Scimago Journal & Country Rank - Earth System Governance |url=https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=21101063742&tip=sid&clean=0 |access-date=2024-07-29 |website=www.scimagojr.com}}</ref>
* The book series on earth system governance by the [[MIT Press]] is about the research objections of earth system governance. Interdisciplinary in scope, broad in governance levels and the use of methods, the books are aimed at investigating earth governance systems and finding conceivable refinements. They are hence addressing the scientific community and professionals in politics.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MIT Press Book Series Archives |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/publications/esg-and-mit-press-book-series/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Earth System Governance |url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/series/earth-system-governance/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=MIT Press}}</ref> There are 19 books in this series so far (as of July 2024).
* The ESG Project is also collaborating with [[Cambridge University Press]] to summarize the research conclusions of 10 years ESG Project in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Earth and Environmental Sciences |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/browse-subjects/earth-and-environmental-sciences/earth-system-governance |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Cambridge Core}}</ref> Eleven books were published in this series.
* The Cambridge Elements series on Earth System Governance focuses on current governance research relevant for practitioners and scientists. The series is aimed at providing ideas for policy improvements and analyses of [[socio-ecological system]]s by interdisciplinary and influential scholars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Earth System Governance |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/elements/earth-system-governance |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Cambridge Core}}</ref>
=== Organizing conferences ===
[[File:Frank Biermann opening the 2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance.jpg|thumb|[[Frank Biermann]] opening the 2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance<ref name=":10" />]]
Since 2007, the ESG Project has organized major scientific conferences on topics of governance and global environmental change:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Annual Conferences |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/annual-conferences/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2007 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Earth System Governance: Theories and Strategies for Sustainability'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2007 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Earth System Governance: Theories and Strategies for Sustainability' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2007-amsterdam-conference-on-the-human-dimensions-of-global-environmental-change-earth-system-governance-theories-and-strategies-for-sustainability/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2008 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change. 'Long-Term Policies: Governing Social-Ecological Change'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2008 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimension of Global Environmental Change. 'Long-Term Policies: Governing Social-Ecological Change' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2008-berlin-conference-on-the-human-dimension-of-global-environmental-change-long-term-policies-governing-social-ecological-change/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2009 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Earth System Governance: People, Places, and the Planet'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2009 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Earth System Governance: People, Places, and the Planet' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2009-amsterdam-conference-on-the-human-dimensions-of-global-environmental-change-earth-system-governance-people-places-and-the-planet/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2010 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Social dimensions of environmental change and governance'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2010 Berlin Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. 'Social dimensions of environmental change and governance' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2010-berlin-conference-on-the-human-dimensions-of-global-environmental-change-social-dimensions-of-environmental-change-and-governance/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2011 Colorado Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Crossing Boundaries and Building Bridges'<ref>{{Cite web |title=Colorado Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Crossing Boundaries and Building Bridges' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/colorado-conference-on-earth-system-governance-crossing-boundaries-and-building-bridges/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2012 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Towards Just and Legitimate Earth System Governance'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2012 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Towards Just and Legitimate Earth System Governance – Addressing Inequalities' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2012-lund-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2013 Tokyo Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Complex Architectures, Multiple Agents'<ref>{{Cite web |title=Earth System Governance Tokyo Conference: Complex Architectures, Multiple Agents |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/earth-system-governance-tokyo-conference-complex-architectures-multiple-agents/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2014 Norwich Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Allocation and Access in the [[Anthropocene]]'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2014 Norwich Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Allocation and Access in the Anthropocene' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2014-norwich-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2015 Canberra Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Democracy and Resilience in the Anthropocene'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2015 Canberra Conference on Earth System Governance: ’Democracy and Resilience in the Anthropocene’ |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2015-canberra-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2016 Nairobi Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Confronting Complexity and Inequality'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2016 Nairobi Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Confronting Complexity and Inequality' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2016-nairobi-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2017 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Allocation & Access in a Warming and Increasingly Unequal World'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2017 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Allocation & Access in a Warming and Increasingly Unequal World' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2017-lund-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref> This conference was co-hosted by [[Lund University]] during its 350-year celebration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2017 Lund Conference on Earth System Governance – Allocation & Access in a Warming and Increasingly Unequal World |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.net/lund2017/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* 2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Governing Global Sustainability in a Complex World'<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=2018 Utrecht Conference on Earth System Governance |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2018-utrecht-conference-on-earth-system-governance/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* 2019 Mexico Conference on Earth System Governance. 'Urgent Transformations and Earth System Governance: Towards Sustainability and Justice'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 Mexico Conference on Earth System Governance |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2019-mexico-conference-on-earth-system-governance/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
* In 2020, Bratislava was meant to be the host, but the conference was rescheduled for 2021 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Bratislava Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Earth System Governance in Turbulent Times: Prospects for Political and Behavioral Responses' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2021-bratislava-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2022 Toronto Conference on Bridging Sciences and Societies for Sustainability Transformations<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |title=2022 Toronto Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Governing Accelerated Transitions: Justice, Creativity, and Power in a Transforming World' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2022-toronto-conference/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2023 in Nijmegen, The Netherlands: Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance: 'Bridging Sciences and Societies for Sustainability Transformations' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/event/2023-radboud-conference-on-earth-system-governance-bridging-sciences-and-societies-for-sustainability-transformations/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 2024 online only event: Earth System Governance Forum on 'Re-imagining Earth System Governance in an Era of Polycrisis'<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 ESG Forum on 'Re-imagining Earth System Governance in an Era of Polycrisis' |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/news/2024-esg-forum-call-for-proposals/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 ESG Forum: "Re-imagining Earth System Governance in an Era of Polycrisis" |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/2024-forum/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref>
=== Organizing task forces ===
The ESG Project organizes task forces, which are international networks of senior and early career scholars with a series of working groups focused on particular ideas. There are currently nine task forces:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Taskforces |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/what-we-do/task-forces/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref> [[Planetary justice]], earth system law, [[ocean governance]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-08 |title=Ocean Governance – An Earth System Governance Taskforce |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.net/oceans/ |access-date=2024-08-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> new technologies, [[anticipatory governance]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Anticipatory Governance Community |url=https://www.anticipatorygovernance.community/ |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=AG Community |language=en}}</ref> [[Sustainable Development Goals]], knowledge cumulation, [[climate governance]], and governance of nature and biodiversity.
=== Interacting with affiliated projects ===
In addition to its core activities, such as conferences, taskforces and working groups, the ESG Project interacts with many smaller research projects that have been formally affiliated with the larger network.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Affiliated projects |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/affiliated-projects/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Earth System Governance Project}}</ref> Such ''affiliated projects'' are formally accepted by the ESG Project’s scientific steering committee, and its research findings are typically discussed at the annual conferences of the ESG Project.
Some of the affiliated projects specifically focus on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, for example the ''GlobalGoals Project'' (from 2020 to 2025, funded by the European Research Council through an Advanced Grant awarded to Professor Frank Biermann).<ref>{{Cite web |title=GLOBALGOALS – Research for Sustainability |url=https://globalgoalsproject.eu/ |access-date=2024-07-22}}</ref>
Examples of other affiliated projects that are current (as of 2024) or recently completed include:<ref name=":9" />
* ''Sustainability Governance of China’s Global Infrastructure Investments'' (SGAIN)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://sgain.org/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=sgain.org |language=en}}</ref>
* ''SocioEconomic Systems and Earth Systems''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Seara.com |title=SocioEconomic Systems and Earth Systems - SES&ES - Research Groups |url=https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/groups/socioeconomic-systems-and-earth-systems-ses-es/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Cibio |language=en}}</ref>
* ''Transformations Community''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-04 |title=Transformations Community |url=https://www.transformationscommunity.org/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Transformations Community |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''Governing the EU’s Climate and Energy Transition in Turbulent Times'' (GOVTRAN)<ref>{{Cite web |title=GovTran – Governing the EU's Climate and Energy Transition in Turbulent Times |url=https://www.govtran.eu/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.govtran.eu}}</ref> (2018 to 2021, funded by Erasmus+ programme of the European Union)
* ''LO-ACT: Low Carbon Action in Ordinary Cities'', a five-year project that started in 2019 and was funded by the [[European Research Council]] (ERC) under the European Union’s [[Horizon 2020|Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme]]''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.loactproject.com/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=LO-ACT |language=en}}</ref>''
* ''Climate Backlash: Contentious Reactions to Policy Action'' (BACKLASH), a five-year project that started in 2021, funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Climate Backlash: Contentious reactions to policy action (BACKLASH) {{!}} Utrecht University |url=https://backlashproject.eu/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Climate Backlash: Contentious reactions to policy action (BACKLASH) |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* ''GreenDeal-NET:'' ''Governing the EU's Transition towards Climate Neutrality and Sustainability'', formed in 2022 and co-funded through the EU's Erasmus+ programme<ref>{{Cite web |title=GreenDeal-NET {{!}} European Climate & Sustainability Governance |url=https://www.greendealnet.eu/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=www.greendealnet.eu}}</ref>
== Impacts ==
The ESG Project does not take policy positions as a network. However, its lead scientists have initiated many activities to support political decision-making and inform policy makers. For example, in 2011, the lead faculty of the ESG Project launched a global assessment on international environmental governance''.'' This publication drew on ongoing research on the institutional framework for [[sustainable development]] in the period leading up to the [[United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development|2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development]] in Rio de Janeiro.<ref name=":8" /> The outcome was an article in Science in 2012, written by 33 leading scholars from the ESG Project as a blueprint for reform of strengthening earth system governance.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Biermann |first1=F. |last2=Abbott |first2=K. |last3=Andresen |first3=S. |last4=Bäckstrand |first4=K. |last5=Bernstein |first5=S. |last6=Betsill |first6=M. M. |last7=Bulkeley |first7=H. |last8=Cashore |first8=B. |last9=Clapp |first9=J. |last10=Folke |first10=C. |last11=Gupta |first11=A. |last12=Gupta |first12=J. |last13=Haas |first13=P. M. |last14=Jordan |first14=A. |last15=Kanie |first15=N. |date=2012-03-16 |title=Navigating the Anthropocene: Improving Earth System Governance |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1217255 |journal=Science |volume=335 |issue=6074 |pages=1306–1307 |bibcode=2012Sci...335.1306B |doi=10.1126/science.1217255 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>
In 2011, more than twenty [[Nobel Prize]] laureates, several leading policy-makers and renowned thinkers on global sustainability met for the ''Third Nobel Laureate Symposium on Global Sustainability'' at the [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] in Stockholm.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Folke |first1=Carl |last2=Rockström |first2=Johan |date=2011 |title=3rd Nobel Laureate Symposium on Global Sustainability: Transforming the World in an Era of Global Change |journal=Ambio|volume=40 |issue=7 |pages=717–718 |doi=10.1007/s13280-011-0190-0 |issn=0044-7447 |pmc=3357755 |pmid=22338711|bibcode=2011Ambio..40..717F }}</ref> The Nobel Laureate Symposium concluded with the [[Stockholm Memorandum]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stockholm Memorandum: Tipping the Scales towards Sustainability |url=http://globalsymposium2011.org/news-and-media/memorandum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211022831/http://globalsymposium2011.org/news-and-media/memorandum |archive-date=11 December 2011 |access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref> This document mentioned earth system governance prominently and called for "strengthening of earth system governance as a priority for coherent global action".''<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Biermann |first=Frank |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781003008873/routledge-handbook-global-environmental-politics-paul-harris |title=Routledge handbook of global environmental politics |date=2022 |publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |isbn=978-1-003-00887-3 |editor-last=Harris |editor-first=Paul G. |edition=2nd |series=Routledge handbooks |location=London; New York, NY |chapter=Chapter 21: Earth system governance – World politics in the post-environmental age}}</ref>'' It was submitted to the High-level Panel on Global Sustainability appointed by the UN Secretary General and fed into the preparations for the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).
In 2014, the then project's chair Frank Biermann was invited to speak in the [[United Nations General Assembly]] during an ''Interactive Dialogue on Harmony with Nature.<ref>Biermann, F. (2914) “[http://files.harmonywithnatureun.org/uploads/upload24.pdf Governance in the Anthropocene: Towards Planetary Stewardship]” Presentation at the 4th Interactive Dialogue of the United Nations General Assembly on Harmony with Nature New York City, New York, 22 April 2014</ref>''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Biermann Presents at UN General Assembly |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/news/frank-biermann-un-general-assembly/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref> This fed into the ''Harmony with Nature'' report of the [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|Secretary-General of the UN]].<ref>UNGA – United Nations General Assembly (2014) ''[https://undocs.org/A/69/322 Harmony with Nature. Report of the Secretary-General]''. United Nations Doc. A/69/322 of 18 August 2014.</ref>
In 2022, members of the ESG Project, along with many natural scientists, took the initiative to call for an "''International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering".''<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Biermann |first=Frank |last2=Oomen |first2=Jeroen |last3=Gupta |first3=Aarti |last4=Ali |first4=Saleem H. |last5=Conca |first5=Ken |last6=Hajer |first6=Maarten A. |last7=Kashwan |first7=Prakash |last8=Kotzé |first8=Louis J. |last9=Leach |first9=Melissa |last10=Messner |first10=Dirk |last11=Okereke |first11=Chukwumerije |last12=Persson |first12=Åsa |last13=Potočnik |first13=Janez |last14=Schlosberg |first14=David |last15=Scobie |first15=Michelle |date=2022 |title=Solar geoengineering: The case for an international non‐use agreement |url=https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wcc.754 |journal=WIREs Climate Change |language=en |volume=13 |issue=3 |doi=10.1002/wcc.754 |issn=1757-7780}}</ref> The authors demand that "Governments and the United Nations need to take effective political control and restrict the development of solar geoengineering technologies before it is too late."<ref name=":7" />
In general, there is widespread support for the ESG Project in the scientific community, which is reflected in the size of the research network and in various publications by experts.<ref>Myanna Lahsen. 2007. [https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/admin/publication_files/resource-2585-2007.32.pdf Earth System Governance: Research in Aid of Global Environmental Sustainability]. ''Global Change NewsLetter No. 70''</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WIzFBAAAQBAJ&dq=interesting+earth+system+governance+project&pg=PA210 |title=Climate in Asia and the Pacific: Security, Society and Sustainability |date=2014 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-007-7337-0 |editor-last=Manton |editor-first=Michael |series=Advances in Global Change Research |volume=56 |location=Dordrecht|doi=10.1007/978-94-007-7338-7 |bibcode=2014caps.book.....M |editor-last2=Stevenson |editor-first2=Linda Anne}}</ref>{{rp|210}}
== Challenges ==
The ongoing funding of the secretariat (called International Project Office, or IPO, in this case) is a challenge from time to time, just like it is for many other knowledge networks or alliances. The 2022 Annual Report of the network stated: "We are also exploring possibilities for the next institutional home of the IPO as our funding partnership comes to a close with Utrecht University in 2023".<ref name=":4" />{{rp|15}}
== History ==
In 2001, four [[global change]] research programs [[Diversitas|(DIVERSITAS]], [[International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme]] (IGBP), [[World Climate Research Programme]], and [[International Human Dimensions Programme|International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change]] (IHDP) agreed to intensify co-operation through setting up an overarching [[Earth System Science Partnership]]. The research communities represented in this partnership said in the ''2001 Amsterdam Declaration on Global Change'' that the earth system now operates "well outside the normal state exhibited over the past 500,000 years" and that "human activity is generating change that extends well beyond natural variability—in some cases, alarmingly so—and at rates that continue to accelerate."<ref>{{Citation |last=Pronk |first=Jan |title=The Amsterdam Declaration on Global Change |date=2002 |work=Challenges of a Changing Earth |pages=207–208 |editor-last=Steffen |editor-first=Will |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290107036 |access-date=2024-07-22 |series=Global Change – the IGBP Series |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-19016-2_40 |isbn=978-3-642-62407-0 |editor2-last=Jäger |editor2-first=Jill |editor3-last=Carson |editor3-first=David J. |editor4-last=Bradshaw |editor4-first=Clare}}</ref> To cope with this challenge, the four global change research programs have called "urgently" for strategies for Earth System management.<ref name=":11" />
In March 2007, the Scientific Committee of the IHDP mandated the drafting of the ''Science Plan'' of the ESG Project. The IHDP was the overarching social science program in the field at that time. For this drafting work a ''Scientific Planning Committee'' was appointed and chaired by Professor [[Frank Biermann]], who was affiliated with [[VU University Amsterdam]]. This committee drafted in 2006-2008 the ESG Project's first ''Science and Implementation Plan''. Biermann also became in 2009 the chair of the ''Scientific Steering Committee'', until he stepped down in 2018. Since then, the Project is led by a Scientific Steering Committee that operates with rotating co-chairs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the ESG Project |url=https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/who-we-are/history/ |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Earth System Governance Project |language=en-US}}</ref>
The ESG Project builds on the results of an earlier long-term research program, the IHDP core project "Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change" (IDGEC).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/212014719 |title=Institutions and environmental change: principal findings, applications, and research frontiers |date=2008 |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-24057-4 |editor-last=Young |editor-first=Oran R. |location=Cambridge, Mass |oclc=212014719 |editor-last2=King |editor-first2=Leslie A. |editor-last3=Schroeder |editor-first3=Heike}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dsj1rkoH3scC&dq=HDP+core+project+Institutional+Dimensions+of+Global+Environmental+Change+earth+system+governance+project&pg=PA235 |title=Integrated risk governance: science plan and case studies of large-scale disasters |date=2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-642-31640-1 |editor-last=Shi |editor-first=Peijun |series=IHDP-integrated risk governance project series |location=Berlin; New York |editor-last2=Jaeger |editor-first2=Carlo |editor-last3=Ye |editor-first3=Qian}}</ref>{{rp|235}} In 2009, the ESG Project began.
Since the termination of the IHDP in 2014, the ESG Project operates independently as an international, self-funded research alliance.
In 2015 the ESG Project became affiliated with of the overarching international research platform [[Future Earth]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=ESG – Earth System Governance {{!}} Future Earth |url=https://futureearth.org/networks/global-research-networks/esg-earth-system-governance/ |access-date=2024-07-18}}</ref> However, links between Future Earth and the ESG Project have remained weak.<ref name=":6" />
==See also==
* [[Earth System Science Partnership]]
*[[Environmental governance]]
* [[Global Carbon Project]]
* [[Global governance]]
* [[Global Land Project]]
*[[World Climate Research Programme]]
* [[Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Project]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/ ESG Project]
{{Sustainability|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Climate change policy]]
[[Category:International sustainability organizations]]
[[Category:Social sciences organizations]]
[[Category:Earth system sciences]]
[[Category:International scientific organizations]]
[[Category:Environmental policies organizations]]