Navigating sustainability transitions: A science for policy approach

The world faces an unprecedented convergence of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, collectively referred to as the Triple Planetary Crisis. These interlinked challenges, compounded by rising inequality and weakened governance, threaten progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and demand a transformative response. This review article adopts an integrative approach grounded in ecological economics, social-ecological systems theory, and sustainability science to examine the dynamic interactions between economic growth, resource use, environmental degradation, and social well-being. The findings underscore that technological innovation and efficiency improvements alone are insufficient to achieve sustainable production and consumption. Instead, the transition requires systemic change, including shifts in production and consumption patterns, institutional reform, and redefined notions of prosperity. It identifies key steps in the co-production of the transition pathway and five key shifts in provision systems that, taken together, can achieve science-based policy reform through interdisciplinary collaboration, co-production of knowledge, and adaptive governance, thereby navigating complexity and uncertainty in policymaking. By focusing on these critical aspects, this research provides a comprehensive framework for navigating the transition to a sustainable future within planetary boundaries.