The 2023 Radboud Conference – Key figures, session recordings and photos

From the 22-27th October 2023, the Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance took place in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. The conference was organized with the Radboud Centre for Sustainability Challenges (RCSC) and served as part of the University’s celebrations of its 100-year anniversary. The theme: “Bridging Sciences and Societies for Sustainability Transformations,” took centre stage throughout the preparations and execution of this year’s conference as the research community gave particular attention to inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration.

This event would not have been possible without the support of the following hosts, co-hosts, and sponsors.

The ESG Project would like to thank everyone who supported and attended to make this the largest-scale event in the longstanding tradition of ESG Conferences. A special thanks goes to conference co-chairs Prof. Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers and Prof. Birka Wicke, as well as Dr. Sander Chan and Dr. Cristina Inoue of Radboud University.

Below, you can find some facts and figures about the conference, a YouTube Playlist of recordings of the plenary and semi-plenary sessions, as well as a gallery of photos.

Participation

This year’s conference on Earth System Governance attracted a total of 678 participants from over 45 different countries.

The conference was organized in a hybrid format, enabling participants from around the world to engage in sessions both in-person and virtually.

Programme

A total of 91 panels, featuring 420 presentations, were organized, covering a diverse range of topics related to environmental governance. Almost a third of these panels were chaired by early career researchers.

Furthermore, 40 innovative sessions were held, with many of them fostering collaboration among scholars from different disciplines and/or practitioners. This aligned with the conference theme, ‘Bridging Sciences and Societies for Sustainability Transformations,’ emphasizing a focus on inter- and transdisciplinarity.

6 semi-plenary sessions were organized by the Radboud Conference Co-hosts (the German Institute of Development and Sustainability, the Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), National University of Singapore, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research at York University, Future Earth and The Earth Commission).
The full programme of semi-plenary sessions is available here.

Before the start of the main conference, two days were dedicated to South-South Dialogues and Early Career Researchers. These events attracted more than 100 participants.

#ESG2023 featured exclusively vegan and low-waste options for refreshments, lunches, the evening reception, and the official conference dinner. Through these actions, the organizing team highlighted the possibility of animal-free catering.

This year, 20 scholars from middle and lower-income countries could avail of fee waivers, travel and/or accommodation subsidies thanks to the support provided by co-hosts and sponsors.

Videos

#ESG2023 Opening Plenary

All #ESG2023 Recordings

#ESG2023 Closing Plenary

On October 26th, the Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance officially closed with a plenary session for all conference attendees.

The closing plenary reflects on insights generated throughout the conference on ...its main theme: bridging societies and sciences for sustainability transformations. 
It discussed the draft Nijmegen agenda for transformative inter- and transdisciplinarity, for which the 2023 Radboud Conference has provided the foundation. The Agenda is meant to inform the implementation of the Earth System Governance Project’s Science and Implementation Plan in the upcoming years.

Panelists
- Prof. Sarah Burch, University of Waterloo, Executive Director of the Waterloo Climate Institute
- Prof. Aarti Gupta, Wageningen University and co-chair of the ESG Scientific Steering Committee
- Sandra Pellegrom: Dutch National Coordinator for the SDGs
- Dr. Inaya Rakhmani, Director Asia Research Centre, Universitas Indonesia
Prof. José Sanders. Rector, Radboud University

This panelists were asked to critically examine transdisciplinarity, emphasizing how it may not inherently lead to transformative impact. Panelists examined distinct roles played by disciplinary, multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary approaches in various academic pursuits. This inquiry extends beyond theory, exploring the practical implications these approaches have on universities, including research, pedagogy, and their broader societal contributions.

So, what are the implications for the Earth System Governance network and conferences in this light? This discussion culminated in exploring the strategic path outlined in the forthcoming Nijmegen agenda, aiming to provide a clear roadmap for effectively leveraging transdisciplinarity within the research community.[+] Show More

#ESG2023 Closing Plenary

On October 26th, the Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance ...

#ESG2023 Opening Plenary “Bridging Sciences and Societies for Sustainability Transformations”

On October 24th, during the opening plenary of the Radboud Conference ...

On October 24th, during the opening plenary of the Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance, the following keynote presenters delved into the conference theme: “Bridging Sciences and Societies for Sustainability ...Transformations”, highlighting the need for sustainability transformations and showing how fundamental such transformations need to be.

Speakers:
Marjan Minnesma
Urgent action is much more needed and is also possible. Science and society can be more aligned and help each other in pushing government and business. Concrete examples show how we start with concrete and scalable projects, and show that the energy transition should not deteriorate biodiversity, but that climate and biodiversity should both be taken into account when implementing solutions.
Website: http://www.urgenda.nl

Melanie Challenger – The Who, How, When, and Why of including the voices of other species in human decision-making processes
Today, it is widely accepted among scientists and non-scientists that many nonhuman animals are intelligent, sentient, communicative, and agentive. And yet there is no provision to include their voices as subjects of justice within human decision-making contexts. The need for more inclusive forms of deliberation will become ever more necessary as the interests of humans and nonhumans come into conflict, and in a changing world and environment.
But how, when and why should we consider other species in our legal and political spheres? The commonest approaches today are in the Rights of Nature movements, which attempt to represent other beings in aggregate or to safeguard whole landscapes, and in projects like Animals in the Room, which regard the other animals in our midst as individuals capable of communicating their interests. The question for human societies is not can the other beings around us express their interests, but can we listen?

Matthias Schmelzer – Contesting the growthocene: From capitalist realism to ecological reduction
Economic growth isn’t working, and it cannot be made to work. This keynote argues that the ideology of growth conceals the rising inequalities and ecological destructions associated with capitalism, and points to desirable alternatives to it. Contemporary society is held captive by the hegemony of growth. Even proposals for ecological modernization, Green New Deals or post-capitalism base their utopian hopes on the development of productive forces, on redistributing the fruits of economic growth and technological progress. Yet growing evidence shows that continued economic growth cannot be made compatible with sustaining life and is not necessary for a good life for all. Building on a vibrant field of research, the lecture presents analysis of capitalist realism around the growth paradigm, introduces the most important critiques of economic growth, and discusses ways of transforming economy and society beyond growth. Proposals for degrowth, it argues, offer a way to step off the treadmill of an alienating, expansionist, and hierarchical system and create new avenues for sustainability beyond growth.[+] Show More

Science-policy dialogue on water as a catalyst for sustainable development and climate action

In March 2023, the first global UN Conference on Water took place ...

In March 2023, the first global UN Conference on Water took place since 1977. It served as a mid-term review of the UN Water Action Decade (2018-2028), which aims at ...sustainable development and integrated management of water resources as a “dealmaker” for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The UN Water Conference included a Water Action Agenda with numerous commitments from a variety of stakeholders. The conference took place at a point in time where water governance at global level was highly fragmented, lacked coherence and coordination, featured diverse fora and initiatives with varying ownership and lacking governmental legitimacy, and was characterised by a hotly debated role of the private sector, inadequate inclusion of civil society and a weak science-policy interface. The water crisis mostly manifests itself at local and transboundary levels, but the impact of global phenomena such as climate change and the key role water resources play as a global commons through teleconnections in water uses and in stabilising the earth system require coordinated and holistic approaches at the global level.

The 2023 Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance featured a science-policy dialogue, organised by IDOS (German Institute of Development and Sustainability), that revolved around the outcomes of the UN Water Conference, prospective narrative water as a “bridge builder” at the nexus of SDGs and climate policy.

Speakers
- Johannes Cullmann, UN-Water Vice Chair and Scientific Advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly, World Meteorological Organisation
- Yunia Musaazi, Executive Director, Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network (UWASNET) & Water Integrity Network
- Robert Varady, Professor of Environmental Policy, Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona
- Aditi Mukherji, Director, Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Impact Area Platform, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
- Ines Dombrowsky, Head, Environmental Governance and Transformation to Sustainability research programme, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)

Moderator
Annabelle Houdret, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), speaker of the BonnWaterNetwork[+] Show More

Sustainable development post-2030: Whose development for what sustainability?

Sustainable development discourse has emphasized the joint importance ...

Sustainable development discourse has emphasized the joint importance of environmental and development agendas at least since its original definition by the Brundtland Commission. Increasingly, the global narrative has come to ...see the two as intrinsically co-constitutive. This is also reflected in popular notions like just transitions and just transformative change, as well as in the Earth System Boundaries put forward by the Earth Commission. At the same time, and beyond all too positive-optimistic attitudes, these notions are also fraught with tensions. After all, they are multi-interpretable and highlight problematic relations of spatial and temporal injustice and inequity. What transforms, what makes it ‘just’, and whose development are we really talking about? Because of such questions, it is far from self-evident how research in and practice of earth system governance could advance sustainable development going forward. Now is also an especially opportune time to address these questions, as talks on a post-2030/post-SDG sustainable development agenda are beginning to start. For instance, an SDG Summit will be held in September 2023 during the UN General Assembly focused on accelerating action towards meeting the SDGs in 2030. This panel discussion, organized by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, opened up a transdisciplinary dialogue to articulate what is at stake for a post-2030 sustainable development agenda, and to discuss how actors in science, policy and society can contribute.

Speakers:
Joyeeta Gupta
Prof. Dr Joyeeta Gutpa is professor of environment and development in the global south at the Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research of the University of Amsterdam and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. She is also co-chair of the Earth Commission. In 2023 she was awarded the Spinoza Prize, the highest award in Dutch academia, for her work on how issues connected with the inequitable distribution of the effects of climate change can be resolved through good governance.

Daniëlle Hirsch
Daniëlle Hirsch is director of Both ENDS, a Dutch NGO working on a sustainable, fair and inclusive world through collaborating with environmental justice groups in the majority world/Global South. She is also standing as a candidate in the Dutch parliamentary elections to be held 22 November.

Sandra Pellegrom
Sandra Pellegrom is the Dutch National Coordinator for the SDGs. In this role she promotes national implementation of the SDGs in and by the Netherlands. She works closely with other ministries and organizations within the central government, as well as with the broad SDG movement in the Netherlands, including businesses, municipalities and provinces, NGOs, youth organizations, knowledge and educational institutions.

Sebastien Treyer
Sébastien Treyer is Executive Director of IDDRI. He is also Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM) and member of the Lead Faculty of the Earth System Governance Network.

Frank Biermann
Frank Biermann is professor of Global Sustainability Governance with the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. He was the founder and first chair (2008-2018) of the Earth System Governance Project. In the ERC Advanced Grant ‘GlobalGoals’ project he led a team to investigate whether, to what extent, and why (not), the SDGs had any political effects so far, published as The Political Impact of the Sustainable Development Goals (Cambridge UP, 2022).[+] Show More

European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-free Supply Chains

Semi-Plenary: European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-free Supply ...

Semi-Plenary: European Union’s Regulation on Deforestation-free Supply Chains: Green Protectionism or Paving Way for Global Decarbonization Pathways

For over three decades the Europe Union and its member states have helped develop, ...promote, and in some cases, administer a range of global policy interventions for reducing tropical deforestation. From promoting eco-labelling initiatives such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), to participating in establishing criteria and indicators for sustainable management following the Rio Earth Summit, to subsequent efforts on forest legality compliance, the EU has played a key role in global efforts to develop sophisticated market mechanisms to help maintain, conserve, and restore, tropical forest ecosystems.

The purpose of the semi-plenary and dialogue is to stimulate thinking and generate knowledge about potential challenges and opportunities in the EU’s latest attempt: focusing on fostering “deforestation free” supply chains known as the “European Union’s no deforestation regulation”. This effort is narrower, and in many ways bolder, than the EU’s emphasis on “voluntary partnership agreements” (VPAs) as a means to foster and reinforce domestic forest sustainability initiatives.

What do we make of this latest effort by the EU? Will it become yet another policy tool marked by the cycle of “policy creation euphoria, implementation depression” often experienced in global environmental governance? Or, will it be seen as a form of “green protectionism” that, as highlighted by EU-US debates over domestic green subsidies, has spurred a range of cross border adjustment mechanisms targeting production and responsibilities beyond national and regional borders? Or, will it be designed to help foster and accelerate what is now a flurry of decarbonization efforts taking place at multiple scales and levels?

IES organized a semi-plenary and a close door policy dialogue,
to bring together ESG network scholars and EU based policy practitioners to explore these questions and to generate insights about how to engage in, and consider policy calibration and settings in the EU context that might enhance, rather than detract from, just transitions and tropical forest conservation.

Moderator:

Prof. Benjamin Cashore, (Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – National University of Singapore)

Speakers:

- Prof. Metodi Sotirov (University of Freiburg) discussed the implications of EU’s deforestation regulation policy changes on the demand-supply dynamics in Europe (EU and UK), non-European consumer regions (USA, Australia, and China) and other tropical trade partners specifically Indonesia, drawing on his ongoing research in this direction.

- Prof. Constance L. McDermott (University of Oxford), examined the framing and design of EU’s deforestation regulation policy and its implications (challenges & opportunities) on supply-side countries based on her ongoing research in Ghana.

- Prof. Georg Winkel (Wageningen University), explored the impacts of EU deforestation regulation policy on timber supplying countries- opportunities and challenges for governance restructuring and inclusive socio-economic development.[+] Show More

Social Tipping points and living within just Earth system boundaries

Semi-Plenary Session: Social Tipping points and living within just ...

Semi-Plenary Session: Social Tipping points and living within just Earth system boundaries

Tipping points are conditions beyond which changes in social and biophysical systems become self-perpetuating, and may lead to abrupt, ...irreversible, and dangerous impacts with serious implications for humanity. In this semi-plenary, the conference co-host Future Earth explored the topic of social tipping points, and the transformations that can lead us to a just and sustainable future.

Future Earth and the Earth Commission convened an interdisciplinary group of Earth system scientists to draw on the Earth Commission concept of Earth system boundaries (ESBs) and discussed the transformations necessary to live within the ESBs, avoid tipping points, and perpetuate a safe and just future for people and the planet. With a focus on justice, they placed literature on tipping points in conversation with just transformations, and the evolution of the planetary boundaries framework for a lively, insightful discussion on viable futures and how to get there. Topics included transformative planetary justice in the Anthropocene, interspecies justice, and the need for social and physical scientists and policy-makers and other stakeholders to be in conversation for best possible outcomes.

Panelists:
- Joyeeta Gupta, Professor of environment and development in the global south, University of Amsterdam and IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. Co-chair of the Earth Commission and Spinoza Prize winner
- Tim Lenton, Professor and Founder of Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, and member of the Earth Commission
- Manjana Milkoreit, PhD, Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo
Discussants:
- Diana Liverman, Regents Professor in the University of Arizona, School of Geography, Development, and Environment University of Arizona, co-lead of Earth Commission’s Transformations Working Group
- Chukwumerije Okereke, Professor of Global Climate and Environmental Governance and Director of Center for Climate and Development at Alex - - Ekwueme Federal University, Nigeria. Member of Earth Commission’s Transformations Working Group
- Jane Madgwick, Executive Director, Global Commons Alliance

Moderator:
Lisa Jacobson, Program Manager Earth Commission, Future Earth Global Hub Sweden[+] Show More

Integrating Planetary Health within Earth System Governance

Semi-Plenary Session: Integrating Planetary Health within Earth System ...

Semi-Plenary Session: Integrating Planetary Health within Earth System Governance

This semi-plenary session was organized by the conference’s institutional co-host Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University. The panel consisted in ...an interdisciplinary forum to delve into the interlinkages between climate, nature and human health to explore integrated governance that is effective and equitable.
The concept of planetary health recognizes the inextricable interdependency between human, animal, and environmental health and the Earth’s natural systems. In the face of compounding global challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and emerging infectious diseases, it is imperative to develop methodologies to measure and respond to cascading risks in the backdrop of context-specific complex interdependencies between the environment, human health, and social systems. Presentations will showcase the latest perspectives on key themes linking climate, nature, and human health, and ecosystem services, including assessment of cascading risks, nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based adaptation, disaster preparedness, whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches, systems approach and policy advice.

The panel is a forum for leading experts, scholars, and practitioners for knowledge-sharing, policy innovation, and collaboration across a range of topics on planetary health interlinkages encompassing assessment of risks and impacts of global crises, health and aging, impacts of climate and biodiversity crises, and global health. The panel offered a transdisciplinary exchange exploring governance and policy innovation, as well as critical perspectives on equity and justice.

Speakers:
- Sharon Friel, ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of Health Equity, Director of Planetary Health Equity Hothouse and Menzies Centre for Health Governance, School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University
- James Orbinski, Professor and Director of Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University
- Ebru Canan Sokullu, Professor and Director of CIFAL Istanbul, Bahcesehir University
- Kathryn Bowen, Professor Environment, Climate & Global Health, Deputy Director of Melb Climate Futures, University of Melbourne.
- Idil Boran, Professor Applied Environmental Governance and Public Policy, Department of Philosophy; Faculty Fellow at Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research; Associate Director of CIFAL York, York University

Chair:
Ina Lehmann, Assistant Professor Governance of Global Biodiversity, Department of Environmental Policy Analysis at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) Free University Amsterdam[+] Show More

Fostering emancipation & courage to shape sustainability transformations in Earth System Governance

This semi-plenary delved into the imperatives of emancipation and ...

This semi-plenary delved into the imperatives of emancipation and courage for realizing sustainability transformations.
Building on the opening plenary of the 2023 Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance, which underscored ...the profound depth and magnitude of required sustainability transformations, we recognized the need for integrating values into governance, including eco- and biocentric values as well as the need to reconfigure economies towards just and equitable relationships. Realizing such emancipation requires courage.

During this semi-plenary, the drive for emancipation and the need for courage was considered, particularly within civil society and academia. This engaging panel discussion showcased prominent scientists and practitioners as they delved into the essential factors of emancipation and courage that propel sustainability transformations forward.

Panelists

Dr. Marjan Smeulders, Radboud University
Marjan Smeulders is a microbiologist studying the adaptation of bacteria to changes in their environment, with the aim to apply bacteria effectively and with reduced environmental impact in e.g. wastewater treatment. Marjan is also a climate activist within Scientists4Future NL and Scientist Rebellion NL.

Yunia Musaazi, Executive Director UWASNET
Yunia Musaazi serves as Executive Director of the Uganda Water & Sanitation Network. UWASNET was founded in 2000 by different Sector Development Partners as the umbrella organization for over 200 Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) operating in the Water and Sanitation sub-sector in Uganda.

UWASNET – Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network
Klaas Kuitenbrouwer, Director The Zoönomic Institute, Researcher at Het Nieuwe Instituut
The Zoönomic Institute is the driving force behind the Zoöp movement. Zoöp is an organisation model for cooperation between human and other-than-human life that safeguards the interests of all life. Zoöp makes the interests of other-than-human life part of organisational decision making, by installing a so-called Speaker for the Living as advisor, teacher and board observer in the organisation.

Zoöp
Nieuwe Instituut
Klaas Kuitenbrouwer is a researcher, curator, educator. He studied History at the University of Utrecht. He is Senior Researcher at het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam, where he makes public programs at thematic crossroads of culture, technology and ecology, with a special focus on the intersection of knowledge practices. In 2018 he initiated the Zoöp project at het Nieuwe Instituut, which chose to become the first Zoöp in the world in 2022.[+] Show More

#ESG2023 Webinar: Conference Call for Papers and Q&A

The 2023 Conference on Earth System Governance will take place at ...

Many thanks to our volunteer team, who captured photos across the six days of events. You can view all photos categorized by day and type of session in the shared google drive. A general selection is available in the gallery below.

Credits: Ines Van Bavel, Michael Davies-Venn, Nathália Almeida, Inge Dekker, Cristiana Cannata and Thomas de Jong.