Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework

Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence on the ongoing degradation of the environment, there is a clear gap between the urgency of the environmental crisis and the policy measures put in place to tackle it. Because of the role of metrics in environmental governance, the way environmental inform...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño, Paul Ekins
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	ESGAP environmental sustainability sustainability gap environmental indicators Strong Environmental Sustainability Index Strong Environmental Sustainability Progress Index Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f86db9fc03bc48c6bc6c69685810dc11
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:f86db9fc03bc48c6bc6c69685810dc11
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f86db9fc03bc48c6bc6c69685810dc112021-11-22T06:44:50ZTime for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework2296-665X10.3389/fenvs.2021.761377https://doaj.org/article/f86db9fc03bc48c6bc6c69685810dc112021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2021.761377/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-665XDespite the overwhelming scientific evidence on the ongoing degradation of the environment, there is a clear gap between the urgency of the environmental crisis and the policy measures put in place to tackle it. Because of the role of metrics in environmental governance, the way environmental information is translated into metrics is of utmost relevance. In this context, we propose criteria to assesses the suitability of environmental metrics to monitor environmental sustainability at the national level. After assessing well-known environmental metrics such as the Sustainable Development Goals indicators and the Environmental Performance Index, we conclude that countries still lack robust and resonant metrics to monitor environmental sustainability. In order to bridge this metric gap, we present the Environmental Sustainability Gap (ESGAP) framework, which builds on the concepts of strong sustainability, critical natural capital, environmental functions and science-based targets. Different composite indicators are proposed as part of the ESGAP framework. Through these metrics, the framework has the potential to embed strong sustainability thinking and science-based targets in nations in which these concepts are not currently sufficiently reflected in policies.Arkaitz Usubiaga-LiañoPaul EkinsFrontiers Media S.A.articleESGAPenvironmental sustainabilitysustainability gapenvironmental indicatorsStrong Environmental Sustainability IndexStrong Environmental Sustainability Progress IndexEnvironmental sciencesGE1-350ENFrontiers in Environmental Science, Vol 9 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	ESGAP environmental sustainability sustainability gap environmental indicators Strong Environmental Sustainability Index Strong Environmental Sustainability Progress Index Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	ESGAP environmental sustainability sustainability gap environmental indicators Strong Environmental Sustainability Index Strong Environmental Sustainability Progress Index Environmental sciences GE1-350 Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño Paul Ekins Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework
description	Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence on the ongoing degradation of the environment, there is a clear gap between the urgency of the environmental crisis and the policy measures put in place to tackle it. Because of the role of metrics in environmental governance, the way environmental information is translated into metrics is of utmost relevance. In this context, we propose criteria to assesses the suitability of environmental metrics to monitor environmental sustainability at the national level. After assessing well-known environmental metrics such as the Sustainable Development Goals indicators and the Environmental Performance Index, we conclude that countries still lack robust and resonant metrics to monitor environmental sustainability. In order to bridge this metric gap, we present the Environmental Sustainability Gap (ESGAP) framework, which builds on the concepts of strong sustainability, critical natural capital, environmental functions and science-based targets. Different composite indicators are proposed as part of the ESGAP framework. Through these metrics, the framework has the potential to embed strong sustainability thinking and science-based targets in nations in which these concepts are not currently sufficiently reflected in policies.
format	article
author	Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño Paul Ekins
author_facet	Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño Paul Ekins
author_sort	Arkaitz Usubiaga-Liaño
title	Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework
title_short	Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework
title_full	Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework
title_fullStr	Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework
title_full_unstemmed	Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework
title_sort	time for science-based national targets for environmental sustainability: an assessment of existing metrics and the esgap framework
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f86db9fc03bc48c6bc6c69685810dc11
work_keys_str_mv	AT arkaitzusubiagaliano timeforsciencebasednationaltargetsforenvironmentalsustainabilityanassessmentofexistingmetricsandtheesgapframework AT paulekins timeforsciencebasednationaltargetsforenvironmentalsustainabilityanassessmentofexistingmetricsandtheesgapframework
_version_	1718418139647049728

Time for Science-Based National Targets for Environmental Sustainability: An Assessment of Existing Metrics and the ESGAP Framework

Ejemplares similares