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When optimization for governing human-environment tipping elements is neither sustainable nor safe

Author

Listed:
  • Wolfram Barfuss

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
    Humboldt University)

  • Jonathan F. Donges

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
    Stockholm University)

  • Steven J. Lade

    (Stockholm University
    The Australian National University)

  • Jürgen Kurths

    (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
    Humboldt University
    Saratov State University)

Abstract

Optimizing economic welfare in environmental governance has been criticized for delivering short-term gains at the expense of long-term environmental degradation. Different from economic optimization, the concepts of sustainability and the more recent safe operating space have been used to derive policies in environmental governance. However, a formal comparison between these three policy paradigms is still missing, leaving policy makers uncertain which paradigm to apply. Here, we develop a better understanding of their interrelationships, using a stylized model of human-environment tipping elements. We find that no paradigm guarantees fulfilling requirements imposed by another paradigm and derive simple heuristics for the conditions under which these trade-offs occur. We show that the absence of such a master paradigm is of special relevance for governing real-world tipping systems such as climate, fisheries, and farming, which may reside in a parameter regime where economic optimization is neither sustainable nor safe.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolfram Barfuss & Jonathan F. Donges & Steven J. Lade & Jürgen Kurths, 2018. "When optimization for governing human-environment tipping elements is neither sustainable nor safe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-04738-z
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04738-z
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    Cited by:

    1. Brias, Antoine & Munch, Stephan B., 2021. "Ecosystem based multi-species management using Empirical Dynamic Programming," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 441(C).
    2. Alan Randall, 2020. "On Intergenerational Commitment, Weak Sustainability, and Safety," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Alan Randall, 2021. "Monitoring Sustainability and Targeting Interventions: Indicators, Planetary Boundaries, Benefits and Costs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-19, March.
    4. Wolfram Barfuss & Janusz Meylahn, 2022. "Intrinsic fluctuations of reinforcement learning promote cooperation," Papers 2209.01013, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2023.
    5. Jobst Heitzig & Wolfram Barfuss & Jonathan F. Donges, 2018. "A Thought Experiment on Sustainable Management of the Earth System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-25, June.
    6. Alan Randall, 2021. "Resource Scarcity and Sustainability—The Shapes Have Shifted but the Stakes Keep Rising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-16, May.
    7. Alan Randall, 2022. "How Strong Sustainability Became Safety," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.

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