The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus is gaining scholarly and policy attention. Despite growing evidence on which type of nexus governance works, little is known about the consequences of such governance for social justice. Implementing the nexus requires decision-making about trade-offs between the use and production of water, energy and food, which are particularly acute at household and community levels. This raises justice questions of whether the nexus can benefit all, and who makes decisions and at what levels. In South Africa, where access to water, energy and food are strongly influenced by a history of Apartheid and inequality, there is a need to study the challenges and opportunities of a socially just nexus implementation from the bottom up. This research introduces the concept of WEF communities, inspired by EU legislation for energy communities to produce their own renewable electricity. We study how similar communities in South Africa could be legally recognised and expanded to include water use and food production, and with what consequences for social justice, particularly for the poorest and women. Incorporation of WEF communities in South Africa’s legal frameworks may enhance social justice from the bottom up, yet this is uncertain given inequalities in (legal) access to energy, water and land. The project consists of (comparative) analyses of legal frameworks in the EU and South Africa, as well as household assessments on WEF interlinkages and decision-making in two communities in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape. Data is collected through literature review, surveys, focus group discussions, interviews and fieldshops. Through active participation in the research, stakeholders from the community to the national level will build capacity and connections, including through a training of trainers' programme targeting the poor, women and youth. Outreach happens through publications, workshops, a website, a symposium and local WEF nexus festivals.

For more information, see https://www.wefcommunities.co.za/ 

• dr. Michele Dalla Fontana
• dr. Saul Ngarava

• Prof. W. du Plessis; North-West University (South African Principal Investigator)
• Dr. Romain Mauger; University of Groningen
• Dr. L. Zhou; University of Fort Hare
• M. Silandela; WWF South Africa

Despite only 10 years remaining to achieve the 2030 Agenda, no country is on track to meet all 17 SDGs. Countries are also far behind in achieving the transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient society as envisioned in the Paris Agreement. Importantly, growing evidence demonstrates that climate action necessitates a transition addressing all dimensions of sustainability. Our research in the planning grant phase confirmed that distributional consequences of both climate action and climate change clearly point to the potential goal conflicts and/or untapped synergies between SDG 13 “C limate action” and SDG 10 “Reduced inequalities”, but comparative evidence is limited on these linkages. The aim of this project is to analyse the conditions for, and politics of, coherent policies for climate change, reducing inequality and other SDGs when implemented nationally, and to provide tools to identify synergies and make transparent trade-offs in different socio-economic and political contexts. Six country cases (Germany, Kenya, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden), at the national and sub-national level, will be compared based on an analytical framework (3 I’s: institutions, ideas, interests), supplemented by a global cross-country quantitative analysis, a regional study of the EU, and tool development. Overall, we aim to make policy recommendations both on novel and coherent policy packages and on process design to enable cross-country policy learning.

https://www.sei.org/projects-and-tools/projects/policy-coherence-between-the-paris-agreement-and-agenda-2030/#overview

• prof. dr. Frank Biermann
• A. Faus Onbargi PhD

• Åsa Persson; Stockholm Environment Institute
• Sander Chan; German Development Institute
• Björn-Ola Linnér; Linköping University
• Philip Osano; Stockholm Environment Institute

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. Melanie van Driel
• Abbie Yunita
• dr. Francesco Montesano MSc
• dr. Maya Bogers
• dr. Carole-Anne Senit
• dr. Thomas Hickmann