Interview with Professor Oran R. Young:

“Dealing with the challenges of the Anthropocene will require substantial changes in the existing world order”

Abstract

For the last 40 years, Professor Oran R. Young, a leading authority on global environmental governance, has been doing cutting-edge research focusing on collective choice and social institutions. He has also conducted applied research dealing with issues pertaining to international environmental governance and to the Arctic as an international region. Working on issues of Arctic governance allowed him to participate in the policy world, while still maintaining his role as a scientist. This contributed to overcoming what he considers a major obstacle to progress: the gap that frequently separates members of the policy community and members of the scientific community. Young believes that navigating the Anthropocene ”“ and unprecedented era with regard to the impact of human actions on the Earth’s biophysical systems - requires governance systems that are effective and resilient in turbulent times. In this interview, conducted by e-mail, Young revisits some of the key concepts of governance, admits that the concept of governance itself may have become to some extent “fuzzy”, and explains why there is still no general theory about environmental governance. Regarding what is called the “death of real environmentalism”, Young points out that most members of the public do not take the issue of climate change seriously, and that many governments are more interested in the politics of the situation than in its substance. To him, the question in the coming years is whether world leaders such as Xi Jinping and Barack Obama, both securely installed in their roles, can forge a coalition between China and the US, which together now account for ~45% of GHG emissions, to break the current international deadlock regarding the issue.