Tackling environmental challenges through evidence-based policy solutions
Published in The Peninsula, March 6, 2024 Tackling environmental challenges through evidence-based policy solutions Preoccupations regarding the continued deterioration of the world’s environment are a significant focus of our times. Scientists, politicians, influencers and actors express concern, but often without hard data to support their opinions. To some, human civilization is inevitably destined to oblivion, however our generation is the most prosperous in human history. To quote J. Robert Oppenheimer: “The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true.” But where does the truth lie? Here, I present the two sides of the same coin. Scientists at the Stockholm Resilience Center in Sweden, an international organization dedicated to transdisciplinary research on the governance of social-ecological systems, have defined and monitored our “planetary boundaries” for several years. These boundaries refer to the physical and ecological limit...