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Managing the climate commons at the nexus of ecology, behaviour and economics

Nature Climate Change volume 4, pages 1057–1063 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Sustainably managing coupled ecological–economic systems requires not only an understanding of the environmental factors that affect them, but also knowledge of the interactions and feedback cycles that operate between resource dynamics and activities attributable to human intervention. The socioeconomic dynamics, in turn, call for an investigation of the behavioural drivers behind human action. We argue that a multidisciplinary approach is needed in order to tackle the increasingly pressing and intertwined environmental challenges faced by modern societies. Academic contributions to climate change policy have been constrained by methodological and terminological differences, so we discuss how programmes aimed at cross-disciplinary education and involvement in governance may help to unlock scholars' potential to propose new solutions.

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Acknowledgements

A. T. is supported by the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy, which is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council. S. A. L. was supported by National Science Foundation grants EF-1137894 and GEO-1211972

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics, London, WC2A 2AZ, UK

    Alessandro Tavoni

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, 08544, New Jersey, USA

    Simon Levin

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  1. Alessandro Tavoni
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Both authors conceived the study; A. T. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. A. T. and S. A. L. wrote and edited parts of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alessandro Tavoni.

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Tavoni, A., Levin, S. Managing the climate commons at the nexus of ecology, behaviour and economics. Nature Clim Change 4, 1057–1063 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2375

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