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Abstract Sustainability science seeks to extend scientific investigation into domains characterized by a distinct problem-solving agenda, physical and social complexity, and complex moral and ethical landscapes. In this endeavor, it arguably pushes scientific investigation beyond its usual comfort zones, raising fundamental issues about how best to structure such investigation. Philosophers of science have long scrutinized the structure of science and scientific practices, and the conditions under which they operate effectively. We propose a critical engagement between sustainability scientists and philosophers of science with respect to how to engage in scientific activity in these complex domains. We identify specific issues philosophers of science raise concerning current sustainability science and the contributions philosophers can make to resolving them. In conclusion, we reflect on the steps philosophers of science could take to advance sustainability science.

We propose a research agenda integrating environment-related science, technology, and innovation (STI) using a problem-solving approach to sustainable development. We argue that STI for sustainability encompasses four major task domains: (1) ecological modernization and transformation, (2) ecosystem management, (3) environmental risk assessment, and (4) adaptation to environmental change, each posing great social challenges. For each domain, nature-society interaction increasingly relies on knowledge acquisition. The proposed agenda focuses on the investigation of R&D capacity and linking knowledge and action within and among societal spheres (i.e., science, politics, business, law, mass media, and education). While today the disciplinary niches of environment-related STI research are still fragmented, with this broader framework, STI research could develop into a major social science field of human-environment relations.

We propose a research agenda integrating environment-related science, technology, and innovation (STI) using a problem-solving approach to sustainable development. We argue that STI for sustainability encompasses four major task domains: (1) ecological modernization and transformation, (2) ecosystem management, (3) environmental risk assessment, and (4) adaptation to environmental change, each posing great social challenges. For each domain, nature-society interaction increasingly relies on knowledge acquisition. The proposed agenda focuses on the investigation of R&D capacity and linking knowledge and action within and among societal spheres (i.e., science, politics, business, law, mass media, and education). While today the disciplinary niches of environment-related STI research are still fragmented, with this broader framework, STI research could develop into a major social science field of human-environment relations.

"Engineering plays a major role in solving real-world problems, from small inconveniences to societal or global concerns around food scarcity, water shortages, environmental damage, problems in housing or infrastructure and more. In today's rapidly evolving world, the development of the latest generation of engineering and technology is crucial for maintaining productivity, innovation, and improving our overall quality of life.Intelligent Engineering Applications and Applied Sciences for Sustainability is an essential research book that serves as a compilation of cutting-edge research and advancements in engineering, science, and technology, and more importantly, how the application of these advancements will guide the path to a more sustainable future. This book focuses on intelligent engineering applications, which encompass the design and implementation of embedded technologies in various domains. It covers a wide range of fields and their influence on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fostering interdisciplinary approaches and innovative solutions, including additive manufacturing technologies, aerospace science and engineering, agricultural advancements, computer science for sustainable development, applied biosciences, applied mathematics, industrial engineering, robotics and automation, transportation, future mobility, and much more. As an academic, rigorous exploration of various disciplines, this book serves as an invaluable resource for researchers, scholars, and professionals seeking to advance the frontiers of intelligent engineering applications and applied sciences for a sustainable future."--

The essay reviews the notion of "civic science" in global environmental governance & how it is articulated in international relations, science studies, democratic theory, & sustainability science. Civic science is used interchangeably with participatory, citizen, stakeholder, & democratic science, which are all catch words that signify various attempts to increase public participation in the production & use of scientific knowledge. Three rationales for civic science are identified: restoring public trust in science, re-orienting science toward coping with the complexity of environmental problems, & installing democratic governance of science. A central proposition is that the promotion of civic science needs to be coupled with a theoretical understanding of its institutional, normative, & epistemological challenges. The science-politics interface needs to be reframed to include the triangular interaction between scientific experts, policymakers, & citizens. 51 References. Adapted from the source document.

The essay reviews the notion of "civic science" in global environmental governance and how it is articulated in international relations, science studies, democratic theory and sustainability science. Civic science is used interchangeably with participatory, citizen, stakeholder and democratic science, which are all catch words that signify various attempts to increase public participation in the production and use of scientific knowledge. Three rationales for civic science are identified: restoring public trust in science, re-orienting science towards coping with the complexity of environmental problems and installing democratic governance of science. A central proposition is that the promotion of civic science needs to be coupled with a theoretical understanding of its institutional, normative and epistemological challenges. The science-politics interface needs to be reframed to include the triangular interaction between scientific experts, policy-makers and citizens.

Abstract. The ongoing intensification of the socio-ecological crisis requires a "Great Transformation" ( WBGU, 2011 ) of central societal systems involving aspects such as mobility, energy production, and nutrition. Thus, from a scientific point of view, the Great Transformation is a highly normative topic with a strong focus on societal and political processes of change. We are convinced that psychology can play a fruitful role in creating the social science for sustainability transformation that is needed for this purpose. However, for this to happen, psychology needs a shift toward a more impact-oriented research perspective, focusing on how people can effectively influence their ecological footprint and/or foster societal change as consumers, producers, or active citizens and community members. As starting points for developing such transformation-oriented psychological research perspectives, the present paper shows how a multilevel perspective on societal transformation processes can be combined with the vision of a solidarity-based lifestyle. Against this theoretical backdrop, we see an important role for psychology in studying how people cope with an ecological crisis by inventing new environmental lifestyles and identities, despite being locked into the currently unsustainable socio-technical systems.

Climate change and the global decline of biodiversity are just two examples of the many sustainability challenges faced by societies today. The complex, urgent and contested nature of these problems and potential solutions pose unprecedented challenges for both science and governance. Responding to these challenges, sustainability researchers seek to advance new ways of doing science that are more interdisciplinary, co-produced, inclusive and solutions-oriented. In this thesis, I ask how such ambitions of science for sustainability become institutionalised, and what the implications are for the relationship between science and governance for sustainability. The thesis is based on an in-depth case study of the global research platform Future Earth: research for global sustainability, which was launched in 2012. Principles of science for sustainability form an important rationale shaping the development of Future Earth. Yet, in institutionalising these principles, tensions emerge between different perspectives on the appropriate role of science in society. Specifically, the ambition to inform and shape sustainability transformations contradicts with the separation between science and politics that is deeply engrained in scientific institutions. Eventual institutional designs tend to conceal the inevitable politics embedded in the ambitions, institutions and effects of science for sustainability. I argue for the need to rethink the relationship between science and politics for sustainability. Sustainability transformations are about normative visions of desirable futures, which cannot be seen separate from the knowledge that informs and supports transformations. Thus, in pursuing sustainability transformations, a strict separation between science and politics is not only impossible but also undesirable.

The dynamism of science has been catalytic for human prosperity in recent history. Conventional perspectives of the ivory tower model of modern science are, however, rivalled by the failure of humanity to tackle global crises of an economic, environmental and social nature. Operational solutions to these pressures have grown and exposed pitfalls of modern science to date. Sustainability Science for Strong Sustainability investigates core concepts, tools and institutional strategies of transdisciplinary sustainability science. Prominent research programs within heterodox economics, the environmental sciences and transition theory are explored through diverse case studies, revealing challenges and advancements for transdisciplinary research. In this book, the reform of modern science is facilitated by the consideration of action points to overcome the institutional barriers of putting sustainability science into practice. Researchers, students and policy practitioners will benefit from up to date knowledge on the practice of transdisciplinary research for sustainability