Pluralizing Debates on the Anthropocene Requires Engaging with the Diversity of Existing Scholarship

Abstract

A recent article in this journal (Jackson 2021) validly emphasized that debates about the Anthropocene need to recognize a diverse range of perspectives, worldviews, and forms of knowledge. In doing so, however, the author mischaracterized scholarship on earth system governance as being antithetical to a critical and pluralistic stance on the Anthropocene. In this commentary we address key concerns about the article: selective and misleading quotations regarding the earth system governance literature’s diversity; unwarranted insinuations that juxtapose the implications of this literature with those of slavery and holocausts; and neglect of the breadth and diversity of scholarship on earth system governance. We underscore the need for scholarly debates on the Anthropocene to be informed by a balanced and rigorous assessment of existing scholarship, and for a constructive dialogue between global and locally situated ways of understanding the earth.

本刊近期一篇文章（Jackson, 2021）强调：人类世的讨论需要意识到不同的观点、世界观和知识形式。然而, 作者对地球系统治理学术研究的错误描述, 有悖于人类世的批判性和多元化立场。在本评论中, 我们讨论了对该文章的主要思考：对地球系统治理文献多样性的选择性和误导性引用；将地球系统治理文献与奴隶制和大屠杀并列的无理暗示；对地球系统治理研究的广度和多样性的忽视。我们强调, 人类世的学术讨论, 需要基于对现有学术研究的均衡化和严谨评价, 需要开展地球认知的全球性和地方化方式之间的建设性对话。

Un reciente artículo del esta revista (Jackson 2021) enfatizaba correctamente que en los debates sobre el Antropoceno es necesario reconocer una amplia gama de perspectivas, visiones del mundo y formas de conocimiento. Al hacerlo, sin embargo, el autor caracterizó equivocadamente el tratamiento académico del sistema de la gobernanza de la tierra como antitético a una postura crítica y pluralista del Antropoceno. En este comentario abordamos las preocupaciones centrales acerca del artículo: citas selectivas y engañosas sobre el sistema de gobernanza terrestre; insinuaciones injustificadas que yuxtaponen las implicaciones de esta literatura con las de la esclavitud y los holocaustos; y la exclusión de la amplitud y la diversidad de erudición sobre la gobernanza del sistema terrestre. Subrayamos la necesidad de que los debates académicos sobre el Antropoceno se basen en una evaluación equilibrada y rigurosa de los estudios existentes, así como en un diálogo constructivo entre las formas globales y locales de entender la tierra.

Key Words:

• Anthropocene
• diversity
• earth system governance
• inclusion
• pluralism

关键词：:

• 人类世
• 多样性
• 地球系统治理
• 包容
• 多元化。

Palabras clave:

• Antropoceno
• diversidad
• gobernanza del sistema terrestre
• inclusión
• pluralismo

This article refers to:

On Decolonizing the Anthropocene: Disobedience via Plural Constitutions

View responses to this article:

Response to Commentary: Probing the Politics of Plurality, Inclusion, and Diversity in the Earth System Governance Project

Notes

1 The full quotation in the original reads: “While including all viewpoints, all voices and all interests may provide for high levels of equality, it is unlikely to result in an efficient process of decision-making or knowledge creation” (Burch et al. 2019, 6).

2 Note also decolonial perspectives by network members regarding the Anthropocene (e.g., Bendik-Keymer 2020) and environmental justice (Álvarez and Coolsaet 2020).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jonathan Pickering

JONATHAN PICKERING is an Assistant Professor in the Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra, Canberra ACT 2617, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include prospects for democracy and justice in global environmental governance, and the implications of the Anthropocene for political institutions.

James Patterson

JAMES PATTERSON is an Assistant Professor at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3585CB Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the institutional and policy dynamics of climate action in domestic politics within broader sustainability transformations.

Frank Biermann

FRANK BIERMANN is a Professor in Global Sustainability Governance at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3585CB Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include international institutions, organizations, and policies in the field of global environmental change and sustainability.

Sarah Burch

SARAH BURCH is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Sustainability Governance and Innovation in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include the dynamics of urban climate change governance, sustainability transitions, and the role that small businesses play in transformative sustainability experiments.

Lorraine Elliott

LORRAINE ELLIOTT is a Professor Emerita in the Department of International Relations, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include global and regional (Asia Pacific) environmental governance, transnational environmental crime, and energy justice in the transition to low-carbon economies.

Aarti Gupta

AARTI GUPTA is a Professor in the Global Environmental Governance, Environmental Policy Group, Wageningen University, Hollandsweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include global environmental and climate governance and the role of transparency and accountability therein, and the anticipatory governance of novel technologies.

Cristina Yumie Aoki Inoue

CRISTINA YUMIE AOKI INOUE is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Governance and Politics Group, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Radboud University, 6500 HC Nijmegen, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include epistemic justice, transformative governance in the Amazon, biodiversity, civil society networks, and South–South relations.

Atsushi Ishii

ATSUSHI ISHII is an Associate Professor in the Center for Northeast Asian Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the relationship between science and politics, Japanese environmental politics and diplomacy, and transdisciplinary research.

Agni Kalfagianni

AGNI KALFAGIANNI is an Associate Professor at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8A, 3585CB Utrecht, The Netherlands. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include the effectiveness, legitimacy, and justice considerations of private forms of governance for sustainability transformations.

James Meadowcroft

JAMES MEADOWCROFT is a Professor in the School of Public Policy, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include the transition to a net-zero society, climate and energy politics and policy, the environmental state, and governance for sustainable development.

Chukwumerije Okereke

CHUKWUMERIJE OKEREKE is a Professor in Global Climate and Environmental Governance, Alex-Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike, P.M.B. 1010 Abakaliki, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include climate justice, national green growth transition in Africa, climate adaptation, business climate strategies, and environmental policy.

Åsa Persson

ÅSA PERSSON is a Research Director and Deputy Director in the Stockholm Environment Institute, 104 51 Stockholm, Sweden, and Adjunct Lecturer in the Department for Thematic Studies, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected]. Her research interests include governance of sustainable development goals, policy coherence, and global governance of climate adaptation.