English
 
Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT
Add to Basket
  Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released
Journal Article

Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability

Authors

Søgaard Jørgensen,  Peter
External Organizations;

Jansen,  Raf E. V.
External Organizations;

Avila Ortega,  Daniel I.
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/lan.wangerlandsson

Wang-Erlandsson,  Lan
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

/persons/resource/Donges

Donges,  Jonathan Friedemann
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Österblom,  Henrik
External Organizations;

Olsson,  Per
External Organizations;

Nyström,  Magnus
External Organizations;

Lade,  Steven J.
External Organizations;

Hahn,  Thomas
External Organizations;

Folke,  Carl
External Organizations;

Peterson,  Garry D.
External Organizations;

Crépin,  Anne-Sophie
External Organizations;

External Ressource
No external resources are shared
Fulltext (public)
Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Søgaard Jørgensen, P., Jansen, R. E. V., Avila Ortega, D. I., Wang-Erlandsson, L., Donges, J. F., Österblom, H., Olsson, P., Nyström, M., Lade, S. J., Hahn, T., Folke, C., Peterson, G. D., Crépin, A.-S. (2024): Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability. - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences, 379, 1893, 20220261.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0261


Cite as: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_29011
Abstract
The Anthropocene is characterized by accelerating change and global challenges of increasing complexity. Inspired by what some have called a polycrisis, we explore whether the human trajectory of increasing complexity and influence on the Earth system could become a form of trap for humanity. Based on an adaptation of the evolutionary traps concept to a global human context, we present results from a participatory mapping. We identify 14 traps and categorize them as either global, technology or structural traps. An assessment reveals that 12 traps (86%) could be in an advanced phase of trapping with high risk of hard-to-reverse lock-ins and growing risks of negative impacts on human well-being. Ten traps (71%) currently see growing trends in their indicators. Revealing the systemic nature of the polycrisis, we assess that Anthropocene traps often interact reinforcingly (45% of pairwise interactions), and rarely in a dampening fashion (3%). We end by discussing capacities that will be important for navigating these systemic challenges in pursuit of global sustainability. Doing so, we introduce evolvability as a unifying concept for such research between the sustainability and evolutionary sciences.