This transdisciplinary research project aims to document the marginalization of climate scientists and knowledges from tropical countries in the Global South, while highlighting the importance of independent tropical data to support global assessments 
Specifically, this project seeks to systematically analyze geographical representation of tropical countries in the Global South in scientific knowledge production on climate science across the research cycle, from data generation to scientific analysis and publication output. Using a postcolonial conceptual frame, we will then identify the causes that explain the geographical imbalances in scientific knowledge production and shed light on the practices and legacies of coloniality in knowledge production. Geographical biases are also apparent in the relatively small number of measurement stations for studying cycling of carbon and water in tropical ecosystems. We will perform quantitative model analysis to assess the importance of these tropical measurements for better understanding the regional and global cycling of carbon and water. Finally, building on the analytical elements of the research, we will identify best practices for inclusive and open climate science.  
The project will employ a mixed-methods approach, consisting of large-n quantitative statistical analyses and a pantropical multiple case study including countries from different tropical countries and with different levels of development. The aim of the fieldwork is to explore the local research practices for producing knowledge and identify barriers to open and inclusive climate science. 

• dr. Gerbrand Koren
• dr. Pita Verweij
• Carmen Mallqui Caballero

Achieving sustainable development worldwide remains probably the biggest political challenge of our time. In 2015, the international community adopted 17 ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ with no less than 169 ‘targets’ as part of a global ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. The ambition expressed in these goals is unprecedented. But can such goal-setting, as a new central approach in global governance, help resolve the pressing challenges of economic development, poverty eradication, social justice and global environmental protection? Nobody knows at this stage. While the United Nations and its member states place high hopes on this novel strategy, there is little scientific knowledge on whether such global goals can live up to exceedingly high expectations. Sustainability research has tended to focus on concrete institutions, actors and practices – not on aspirational goals that bring little in terms of normative specificity, stable regime formation or compliance mechanisms. How can ‘global governance through goals’ nonetheless be effective – and under which conditions? GLOBALGOALS will address this puzzle and break new ground in sustainability and global governance theories. It offers the first and most comprehensive data compilation, network mapping and comparative institutional analysis of the evolution, effectiveness and future prospects of ‘global governance through goals’ as a central novel steering mechanism in world politics. This 5–year study programme deploys a unique set of cutting-edge methodologies, including social network analysis and online surveys, to assess and explain the steering effects of nine Sustainable Development Goals through a detailed investigation of their institutional arrangements and actor networks, at international and national levels. GLOBALGOALS makes a crucial knowledge contribution to both the theory of global sustainability governance and the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

For more information, visit the project website (globalgoalsproject.eu).

• dr. Rak Kim
• prof. dr. Frank Biermann
• dr. Agni Kalfagianni
• dr. M.J. (Marjanneke) Vijge
• dr. Melanie van Driel
• Abbie Yunita
• dr. Francesco Montesano MSc
• dr. Maya Bogers
• dr. Thomas Hickmann