Research to Confront Climate Change Complexity: Intersectionality, Integration, and Innovative Governance

• Published in: Earth's future 2024-06, Vol.12 (6), p.1-n/a
• Main Authors: Mach, Katharine J., Jagannathan, Kripa, Shi, Linda, Turek‐Hankins, Lynée L., Arnold, Jeffrey R., Brelsford, Christa, Flores, Alejandro N., Gao, Jing, Martín, Carlos E., McCollum, David L., Moss, Richard, Niemann, Jennifer, Rashleigh, Brenda, Reed, Patrick M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Climate; Climate change; Climate effects; Complexity; Decision making; Environmental assessment; Environmental impact; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Floods; Gentrification; Integration; Intersectionality; Municipal finance; Rural areas; Socioeconomic factors; Suburban areas; Systems science
• ISSN: 2328-4277; 2328-4277
• DOI: 10.1029/2023EF004392

Climate impacts increasingly unfold in interlinked systems of people, nature, and infrastructure. The cascading consequences are revealing sometimes surprising connections across sectors and regions, and prospects for climate responses also depend on complex, difficult‐to‐understand interactions. In this commentary, we build on the innovations of the United States Fifth National Climate Assessment to suggest a framework for understanding and responding to complex climate challenges. This approach involves: (a) integration of disciplines and expertise to understand how intersectionality shapes complex climate impacts and the wide‐ranging effects of climate responses, (b) collaborations among diverse knowledge holders to improve responses and better encompass intersectionality, and (c) sustained experimentation with and learning about governance approaches capable of handling the complexity of climate change. Together, these three pillars underscore that usability of climate‐relevant knowledge requires transdisciplinary coordination of research and practice. We outline actionable steps for climate research to incorporate intersectionality, integration, and innovative governance, as is increasingly necessary for confronting climate complexity and sustaining equitable, ideally vibrant climate futures. Plain Language Summary Climate impacts are complex, and prospects for climate responses depend on difficult‐to‐understand interactions. Lived experiences are increasingly revealing limits to what we in the scientific community have successfully modeled and ongoing challenges in how we help others understand the complexity of climate impacts and support decision‐making. Here, we chart a path for confronting the complexity of climate change with actionable advances in equity and governance research. Key Points Climate impacts increasingly unfold in interlinked systems of people, nature, and infrastructure The cascading consequences are revealing sometimes surprising connections and complex, difficult‐to‐understand interactions We suggest a research framework for climate complexity prioritizing intersectionality, integration, and innovative governance