Environmental Science & Policy最新文献

{"title":"Science on the judicial stage: Contested scenarios in the climate court case against Shell","authors":"Lisette van Beek ,&nbsp;Jeroen Oomen ,&nbsp;Haomiao Du","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104210","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104210","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Climate litigation is growing and increasingly targets corporate actors. Scientific evidence is crucial in climate court cases, for instance to determine plaintiffs’ standing to sue or the attribution of climate impacts to the defendants’ actions. However, it remains unknown how scientific expertise influences court decisions, what forms of expertise are used, how evidence is contested, and how judges engage with this expertise. We address this gap by studying the contestation of scientific evidence in the Dutch climate case Milieudefensie cs v. Royal Dutch Shell. This case is notable for its heavy reliance on model projections, most notably those presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In this paper, we take a dramaturgical approach to reconstruct how litigants contested scenario projections. Drawing on Hilgartner’s (2000) notion of stage management, we observe how plaintiffs and defendants deployed various dramatic techniques to enact and dispute the credibility and legitimacy of scenarios. The scenarios were most significantly contested by Shell, challenging both their credibility and relevance. Milieudefensie cs mainly questioned the scenarios' normative foundations. The case thereby signals that the role of science in climate politics is shifting, with the court room becoming increasingly important as a ‘stage’ where climate science is mobilised and contested. We conclude by reflecting on the shifting dynamics of climate politics; the position of the IPCC as crucial source of evidence in climate litigation, the limitations of models as key resource for climate litigation, and the emerging role of judges as gatekeepers of climate science.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104210"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145026770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the use of adaptation tipping points: A systematic review of definitions, characteristics and applications","authors":"Alfred Erick Paarlberg,&nbsp;Bregje van der Bolt,&nbsp;Raffaele Vignola,&nbsp;Solen Le Clec’h,&nbsp;Wouter Julius Smolenaars","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104211","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104211","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Adaptation Tipping Points (ATPs) are critical in adaptation pathway planning, marking thresholds where existing strategies fail, and requiring new approaches. Despite their importance, ATPs lack consistent definitions, leading to conceptual fragmentation. Following the lack of a systematic approach, existing research provides limited insights into how ATPs align with broader development trajectories, making their integration into adaptation strategies challenging. Addressing this gap requires a comprehensive characterization that clarifies how ATPs have been applied in scientific literature, ensuring consistency while allowing for context-specific adaptations. To this end, we systematically analyse and consolidate existing research on ATP definitions, methods, and outputs, laying the groundwork for a standardized approach to ATPs in climate change adaptation planning. We identify four primary ATP categories (policy-based, acceptance-based, transition-based, and opportunity-based), each representing distinct thresholds shaped by governance, societal acceptance, systemic transitions, and strategic opportunities. These categories are characterized by differences in system dynamics, triggering events, consequences, adaptation drivers, and goals, defining distinct trajectories and objectives for each category in adaptation pathway planning. Furthermore, we show that the application of different ATP categories is independent of specific contexts, methods or outcomes, highlighting the flexibility of different categories across climate change adaptation planning processes. This study underscores the potential of ATPs to enhance cross-sectoral integration and facilitate the development of adaptation pathways. Ultimately, a more coherent application of ATPs can strengthen adaptation pathway planning by enabling timely interventions, accounting for systemic interdependencies, and aligning adaptation measures with broader sustainability goals in an integrated, system-wide framework.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104211"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145010282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating nature-based solutions into urban flood risk and resilience analysis: A bowtie and sendai framework approach","authors":"Marina Batalini de Macedo ,&nbsp;Maria Clara Fava ,&nbsp;Lucas Borges Leal da Silva ,&nbsp;Marcelo Hazin Alencar","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104208","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104208","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Floods represent a significant concern in urban areas, affecting people, resources, and the environment. Factors such as climate change and socioeconomic conditions increase the frequency and severity of these events, requiring effective mitigation and prevention measures to reduce their impacts. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), established in 2015, emphasizes the importance of risk management based on scientific evidence and community participation, including developing urban planning policies that address multiple risks. That same year, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined objectives to build a resilient society. This research used the Bowtie method to establish cause-effect scenarios with barriers to communicate flood risks in urban areas and identify potential management actions to prevent and mitigate adverse consequences, at a local-level administration and focusing on the reality of Global South. As water-related disasters, particularly urban flooding, become more frequent, cities face escalating threats due to climate change and rapid urbanization. Combining structural, non-structural, and nature-based solutions, proactive measures are critical to urban resilience. The Bowtie method facilitated a comprehensive risk assessment by clearly outlining relationships between risk elements while aiding communication with stakeholders. This analysis considered both the SFDRR and the SDGs, offering insight into the alignment of flood mitigation strategies with global resilience objectives and evaluating the feasibility and impact of implementing these measures in urban areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104208"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145004816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconciling the right to develop with leaving fossil fuels underground in the Global South","authors":"Augusto Heras ,&nbsp;Crelis F. Rammelt ,&nbsp;Joyeeta Gupta","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104207","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104207","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address climate change, supply-side action and policy are urgently needed for leaving fossil fuels underground. Low- and Middle-Income Countries hold a pivotal role in such a transition due to their significant fossil fuel reserves and their Right to Development. Against this background, this paper asks: <em>What rationales, based on fossil fuel data and the Right to Development, could underpin Global South countries' engagement in or withdrawal from fossil fuel supply?</em> To unpack their development dilemmas and unravel a set of different arguments for different countries, this paper first develops an inventory of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, drawing from data on reserves, production, and infrastructure, to quantitatively assess their material involvement in fossil fuels and to identify potential cases for impactful and just mitigation action. We also estimate potential carbon emissions from burning all reserves in the included Least Developed Countries. These hypothetical per capita emissions are 10.94 % of those emitted by the richest 0.1 % in 2019. Based on this assessment, we then propose a typology of different Right to Development rationales around fossil fuels. We call for more granular analyses of the Global South in supply-side climate policy, to allow for their autonomous development trajectories. This includes a managed and just phase-out of fossil fuels aligned with the 1.5 ºC target, ensuring that the burden of stranded assets and resources falls on those most capable of bearing it.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104207"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144989166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A review of different removal techniques for pesticides found in European waters identified by the European Environmental Agency","authors":"James Disley,&nbsp;Guzman Gil-Ramirez,&nbsp;Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104194","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104194","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture has led to increasing concern over the contamination of water across Europe. Although many pesticide residues are detected below the maximum residue level (MRL) set by the EU Drinking Water Directive (0.1 µg/L for single substances), several compounds have been consistently reported above these limits, indicating potential risks to both environmental and human health. In February 2024, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) identified four pesticides: imidacloprid, metolachlor, atrazine, and bentazone, as substances exceeding regulatory thresholds at a significant number of monitoring sites. Highlighting the need for new removal techniques that can trap these persistent pesticides. This review explores 94 studies from the past decade, investigating a wide range of removal methods including adsorbents and biosorbents, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), electrochemical oxidation, and biological approaches. Particular attention is given to removal performance, operational feasibility, and compliance with regulatory limits. As it stands, AOPs and electrochemical oxidation currently offer the most promising results, with several studies demonstrating complete removal of targeted pesticides, including final concentrations compliant with the EU’s MRL.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104194"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144989277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating health in ecosystem-based adaptation initiatives across the Pacific Islands region: A policy analysis of Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu","authors":"Jacqueline Dawkins ,&nbsp;Ying Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104193","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104193","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is an adaptation approach that focuses on the management of ecosystem services to reduce vulnerabilities of communities to the adverse impacts of climate change. There are various EbA projects implemented across the Pacific Islands region; however, health outcomes have not been comprehensively addressed in relevant national policies and EbA projects to date. The region is facing a ‘triple burden’ of disease and further efforts are required to integrate health outcomes in policy and EbA project development to fully understand the impacts of EbA on health. Fiji, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu were chosen as the study sites for the policy analysis and key national policies and plans relating to climate change, health, and adaptation/sustainable development, along with three case studies, were analysed using the Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis (IBPA) framework. While most policies included information and recommendations around climate change-related health outcomes, this was often presented separately to any environmental, gender- or human rights-related, or traditional knowledge analysis or indicators. Similarly, the case studies did not include comprehensive information on the studied themes. To overcome the current lack of integration between health outcomes and EbA approaches, we recommend the following: the integration of health-related performance-based indicators in monitoring and evaluation (M&amp;E) methods to measure adaptation capacity; the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) in policy development and project planning; and capacity building to increase awareness of climate-related risks through inclusive planning, development, implementation, and M&amp;E processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104193"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144933357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Understanding regenerative agriculture in Europe: An analysis of academic literature, stakeholder perceptions and policy comparing Spain and the UK","authors":"Yara Shennan-Farpón ,&nbsp;Audrey Vion-Loisel ,&nbsp;Arnout van Soesbergen ,&nbsp;Elena López-Gunn ,&nbsp;Celia García Asenjo ,&nbsp;Hedwig van Delden ,&nbsp;Caitlin Douglas ,&nbsp;Mark Mulligan","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104172","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104172","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Europe’s food and agricultural systems face multiple threats, from soil degradation, to water availability, high input costs and changing agricultural policy and trade environments. At the same time, the environmental degradation associated with agriculture threatens biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services to millions of people. Regenerative agriculture is gaining popularity, reflecting an approach which aims to reduce agriculture’s impact on the environment, improve soil health and maintain the sustainability of production. While ongoing changes to UK and EU policy landscapes aim to encourage sustainable transformation of food systems and agriculture, uncertainty remains across the diverse stakeholder groups involved (practitioners, scientists, and policy-makers) around the definition of regenerative agriculture, the practices associated with it, and its outcomes. This lack of consensus and documented evidence can influence attitudes and create barriers to uptake. In this paper, we combine a review of key UK and EU agricultural policies, literature review, and analysis of participatory stakeholder processes in Spain and the UK to determine whether policy developments adequately reflect perceived barriers, motivations and understanding of regenerative agricultural practices. We find very limited presence of regenerative agriculture and descriptions of practices commonly associated with it in both EU and UK policies. Evidence from stakeholders and peer-reviewed literature suggest regenerative agriculture is more commonly discussed in a UK context, and uptake of regenerative agriculture and knowledge-sharing between farmers in Spain is lower compared to the UK. Clearer guidelines on practices and methods, and evidence on the barriers, incentives and outcomes in using regenerative agriculture are needed from the science and policy-making communities to promote successful and effective changes across the sector and prevent misguided and inconsistent labelling of production systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104172"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144926122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Erratum to “The reflexive process in sustainability science: A short critical review” [Environ. Sci. Policy 171 (2025) 104145]","authors":"Julien Vanhulst ,&nbsp;Patricio Padilla-Navarro ,&nbsp;Alejandro Espinosa-Rada ,&nbsp;Roberto Cantillan ,&nbsp;Roberto Velásquez ,&nbsp;Karla González Tapia","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104158","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104158","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 104158"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144931562","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scaling fairness: Balancing self-interest, community needs and societal justice for public acceptance of climate change mitigation policies in the Nordic Region","authors":"Carlos Tapia ,&nbsp;Nora Sánchez Gassen ,&nbsp;Anna Lundgren","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104185","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104185","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Public perception regarding the fairness of climate mitigation policies is considered a key determinant of social acceptance. The literature distinguishes between perceptions related to the impacts of climate policies on individuals and households (self-interest) and broader concerns regarding the distributional impacts of climate policies (societal interest). This study also examines perceptions of fairness at the local community level. The aim is to examine the interplay between climate consciousness, perceptions of distributive justice at the societal level, expectations regarding climate policy impacts on the local community, and personal experiences at the household level to support climate change mitigation policies. Based on survey data from a representative sample of the Nordic population (N = 5080), we utilise ordinal logistic regression (OLR), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the role of these factors in promoting social support for the climate agenda across the Nordic Region. Our results highlight the key role played by climate concerns, expectations regarding the impacts of climate policies at the local community level and perceptions about their financial effects on respondents' households, rather than considerations regarding distributive justice at the societal level. Our results suggest that, within a Nordic context, individuals place more importance on the perceived and expected impacts of climate change mitigation policies at the household and local community levels (‘fairness to us’) than on distributive justice at the societal, level (‘fairness to others’).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 104185"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144921419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How can we better account for experiential knowledge in co-production frameworks?","authors":"Zachary Johner,&nbsp;Nicole Klenk,&nbsp;Christopher Cvitanovic,&nbsp;Maud Borie","doi":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104183","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104183","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Calls for co-production at the environmental science-policy interface emphasize broad participation and inclusion, yet they continue to privilege knowledge aligned with Western scientific standards over other ways of knowing. This editorial argues that experiential knowledge—embodied and affective understanding rooted in lived experience and often communicated through vivid storytelling—remains largely unrecognized and undervalued in co-production frameworks and initiatives. Drawing on insights from philosophy, narrative theory, and neuroscience, we examine how storytelling enables the transmission of experiential knowledge through aesthetic engagement and embodied simulation. We distinguish between using anecdotes as illustrative tools and crafting narratives that convey the full affective and sensory texture of experience. The article proposes non-extractive and epistemically inclusive approaches to account for experiential knowledge in research and policy, including strategies for inviting both analytical and aesthetic reading. We conclude with practical recommendations for valuing and respecting experiential knowledge, moving toward a more inclusive understanding of what counts as knowing at the environmental science-policy interface.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":313,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Science & Policy","volume":"171 ","pages":"Article 104183"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144931566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}