A new "prescription for the planet" aims to address the deepening environmental crisis.
An international team of researchers set out to understand why climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution continue to worsen despite increased green policies and funding.
They conclude that the problem isn't just about the number of commitments and funding levels - but also the current "strategic direction".
Their prescription gives policymakers and financial decision-makers a straightforward hierarchy of priorities - with reducing extraction and consumption top of the list.
"Current environmental action tends to focus on each problem in isolation, but that can simply push problems into other areas," said Dr Melissa Wang, from Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter.
"Pressure is growing - from people, organisations and nations - for real progress to stop the triple environmental crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
"Our new paper provides a constructive framework to ensure that action and investment deliver the desired results, even in the face of resistance."
The team have developed a Sustainability Hierarchy Framework that looks across domains and sectors, giving policymakers and investors clear priorities.
The framework has five tiers - options to be used in descending order:
- Prevent and reduce resource extraction and consumption. Extraction, processing and use of fossil fuels and minerals continues to grow, as do overfishing and the conversion of forests to large-scale agricultural production. Sustainability decisions should first and foremost seek to prevent or minimise this.
- Improve retention and reuse of extracted resources. Develop and promote "circular" systems that extend the lifespan and value of products and materials.
- Replace problematic and hazardous resources with safer and more sustainable alternatives (including renewable energy).
- Recycle and regenerate resources after the top three tiers are rigorously implemented.
- Remediate residues and impacts: This final tier addresses past and remaining damages - but it should not be prioritised over higher-tier interventions.
The prioritisation of "upstream" interventions is increasingly exemplified in landmark international initiatives and commitments, including the ambition of the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (Santa Marta Conference), the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, the Deep Sea Mining Moratorium, and the 30×30 conservation target enshrined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The framework deliberately excludes "offsets" and credits, as those are not interventions - they simply substitute lower-tier interventions in one location (such as beach clean-ups, recycling, or tree planting) for higher-tier responsibilities in another location (such as reducing fossil fuel extraction, plastic production, or deforestation).
Case study: Global Plastics Treaty
The new paper highlights the example of the Global Plastics Treaty, which is under negotiation.
There is currently a divide between a group of about 100 nations calling for curbs on production of plastic, and oil states pushing for a focus on recycling.
Applying the logic of the new Sustainability Hierarchy Framework, Dr Fredric Bauer, from Lund University, said: "Right now, about 88% of funding for tackling plastic pollution goes to 'downstream' initiatives rather than stopping that pollution in the first place.
"We need to push both policy and finance to focus on 'upstream' initiatives - preventing damage rather than cleaning it up."
The framework, which will be showcased at the Exeter Climate Forum, is already being shown to diplomats at multilateral environmental negotiations, global investors, the United Nations secretariat and special rapporteurs, and Indigenous Peoples.
Frankie Orona, Executive Director, Society of Native Nations; Co-Facilitator, Indigenous Peoples and Their Communities Major Group, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said: "We cannot tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, or the plastic pollution crisis without addressing the unsustainable extraction and production models that harm our planet, violate international law and the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples.
"Environmental issues are deeply interconnected, and their impacts are felt first and worst by Indigenous communities. It is time to move past rhetoric - upholding, recognising and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples' must be the baseline priority for any meaningful environmental framework moving forward."
