Conceptualizing transformative change for global environmental governance

Abstract

The notion of transformative change has attracted increasing attention from research and policy communities as societies struggle with the nature and adequacy of responses to the intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and social justice. Yet while many agree that transformative change is needed, it remains an essentially contested concept. We review how the notion of transformative change has come to be understood in global environmental governance, finding that the focus has been on speed and scope of change with less explicit attention being paid to what is actually being transformed, how and for whom. As a result, certain kinds of change – those which are fast and systemic in scope – are privileged. We argue that this is to miss the very potential of transformative change and offer an approach that holds space for a plural understanding of transformation that allows for different matters of justice to be considered.