Abstract
This article introduces the thematic collection, ‘The critical role of governance
for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited
by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, and Henry
Richards. With confirmation that global average temperatures in 2024 exceeded
1.5° above pre-industrial levels, and near continuous news of extreme weather
events around the world, there seems little to dispute the characterisation of UN
Secretary-General, António Guterres, that ‘every country must deliver and play
their rightful part’. Guterres and many others point to the urgency of action,
even though it is palpably sluggish. In the collection, we argue that SHAPE
(Social Science, Humanities, and the Arts for People, Economy and environment)
research provides the essential lynchpin for policymakers to understand people,
societies, economies, and cultures and what works in practice to bring about the
transformative changes needed to respond to this challenge. The common thread of this collection is governance. Governance provides the political and civic mechanisms to deliberate and make inclusive decisions based on evidence and collective judgements about our shared future. The collection features crucial policy insights drawn from SHAPE research to advance the principles and
practices of consensual governance, and to help navigate ‘an exit off the highway to climate hell’
for decarbonisation at pace: learning the lessons from SHAPE research’, edited
by Sarah Birch, Hilary Graham, Andrew Jordan, Tim O’Riordan, and Henry
Richards. With confirmation that global average temperatures in 2024 exceeded
1.5° above pre-industrial levels, and near continuous news of extreme weather
events around the world, there seems little to dispute the characterisation of UN
Secretary-General, António Guterres, that ‘every country must deliver and play
their rightful part’. Guterres and many others point to the urgency of action,
even though it is palpably sluggish. In the collection, we argue that SHAPE
(Social Science, Humanities, and the Arts for People, Economy and environment)
research provides the essential lynchpin for policymakers to understand people,
societies, economies, and cultures and what works in practice to bring about the
transformative changes needed to respond to this challenge. The common thread of this collection is governance. Governance provides the political and civic mechanisms to deliberate and make inclusive decisions based on evidence and collective judgements about our shared future. The collection features crucial policy insights drawn from SHAPE research to advance the principles and
practices of consensual governance, and to help navigate ‘an exit off the highway to climate hell’
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | a09 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Journal of the British Academy |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Mar 2025 |