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Scientific Article details

Title Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation
ID_Doc 71365
Authors Voulvoulis, N; Giakoumis, T; Kioupi, V; Souliotis, I; Vaghela, C; Rosely, WBW
Title Systems thinking as a paradigm shift for sustainability transformation
Year 2022
Published
DOI 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102544
Abstract The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted as reference and universal guidepost for transitioning to Sustainable Development by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are intended to be used as a set of interconnected goals and global targets for 'Transforming our world', as the 2030 Agenda is titled. This is a far more challenging task than business as usual; it requires systems thinking for understanding the conditions that generate and propagate sustainability challenges, moving away from the reductionist and anthropocentric thinking that created them in the first place. Taking a systems approach to addressing these challenges has been gaining currency with academics and policymakers alike, and here we make the case for holistic, integrated, and interdisciplinary thinking that challenges assumptions and world views, crucially based on public participation and engagement, to create the enabling conditions for sustain ability to emerge. System transformations require interconnected changes to technologies, social practices, business models, regulations and societal norms, an intentional process designed to fundamentally alter the components and structures that cause the system to behave in its current unsustainable ways, a paradigm shift enabling the transition to sustainability.
Author Keywords Sustainability; Transformation; Policy; Systemic; Reductionist; Interventions; Vision
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED); Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000811715300006
WoS Category Environmental Sciences; Environmental Studies; Geography
Research Area Environmental Sciences & Ecology; Geography
PDF https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102544
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