IPBES. Summary for Policymakers. In The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (eds Díaz, S. et al.) (IPBES, 2019).
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (CBD, 2022); https://www.cbd.int/gbf
IPBES. Summary for Policymakers. In The Thematic Assessment Report on the Underlying Causes of Biodiversity Loss and the Determinants of Transformative Change and Options for Achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity (eds O’Brien, K. et al.) (IPBES, 2024).
Buckton, S. J. et al. The regenerative lens: a conceptual framework for regenerative social-ecological systems. One Earth 6, 824–842 (2023).
Fischer, J. et al. Mainstreaming regenerative dynamics for sustainability. Nat. Sustain. 7, 964–972 (2024).
Geels, F. W., Kern, F. & Clark, W. C. System transitions research and sustainable development: challenges, progress, and prospects. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2206230120 (2023).
Reyes-García, V. et al. Transforming the economic landscape for global sustainability. Ecol. Soc. 30, 2 (2025).
Ceddia, M. G. The super-rich and cropland expansion via direct investments in agriculture. Nat. Sustain. 3, 312–318 (2020).
Armitage, D., Mbatha, P., Muhl, E.-K., Rice, W. & Sowman, M. Governance principles for community-centered conservation in the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. Conserv. Sci. Pract. 2, e160 (2020).
West, S., Haider, L. J., Stålhammar, S. & Woroniecki, S. A relational turn for sustainability science? Relational thinking, leverage points and transformations. Ecosyst. People 16, 304–325 (2020).
Andersen, A. D., Geels, F. W., Steen, M. & Bugge, M. M. Building multi-system nexuses in low-carbon transitions: conflicts and asymmetric adjustments in Norwegian ferry electrification. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2207746120 (2023).
Geels, F. W. Socio-technical transitions to sustainability: a review of criticisms and elaborations of the multi-level perspective. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 39, 187–201 (2019).
Loorbach, D., Frantzeskaki, N. & Avelino, F. Sustainability transitions research: transforming science and practice for societal change. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 42, 599–626 (2017).
Marquardt, J. Conceptualizing power in multi-level climate governance. J. Clean. Prod. 154, 167–175 (2017).
Schiller, K. J. F., Klerkx, L., Centeno, D. J. S. & Poortvliet, P. M. Developing the agroecological niche in Nicaragua: the roles of knowledge flows and intermediaries. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2206195120 (2023).
Feola, G. Societal transformation in response to global environmental change: a review of emerging concepts. Ambio 44, 376–390 (2015).
Scoones, I. et al. Transformations to sustainability: combining structural, systemic and enabling approaches. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 42, 65–75 (2020).
Avelino, F. & Wittmayer, J. M. Shifting power relations in sustainability transitions: a multi-actor perspective. J. Environ. Policy Plan. 18, 628–649 (2016).
Kivimaa, P., Boon, W., Hyysalo, S. & Klerkx, L. Towards a typology of intermediaries in sustainability transitions: a systematic review and a research agenda. Res. Policy 48, 1062–1075 (2019).
Reyes-García, V. et al. Indigenous peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change for sustainability. Commun. Earth Environ. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03098-z (2026).
Walter, M. et al. Social movements are transformative agents for biodiversity conservation. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2513327123 (2026).
Köhler, J. et al. An agenda for sustainability transitions research: state of the art and future directions. Environ. Innov. Soc. Trans. 31, 1–32 (2019).
Krug, R. M. Transformative change assessment TCA Corpus data package. Zenodo https://zenodo.org/records/11447008 (2025).
Scheidel, A. et al. Environmental conflicts and defenders: a global overview. Glob. Environ. Change 63, 102104 (2020).
Apostolopoulou, E. et al. Radical social innovations and the spatialities of grassroots activism: navigating pathways for tackling inequality and reinventing the commons. J. Polit. Ecol. 29, 144–188 (2022).
Pahl-Wostl, C., Becker, G., Knieper, C. & Sendzimir, J. How multilevel societal learning processes facilitate transformative change: a comparative case study analysis on flood management. Ecol. Soc. 18, 58 (2013).
Stinus, C., Shankland, R. & Berjot, S. Connectedness to humanity and connectedness to nature as a leverage point for eco and socio-responsible consumption. Curr. Psychol. 43, 30429–30445 (2024).
Nyborg, K. et al. Social norms as solutions. Science 354, 42–43 (2016).
Abson, D. J. et al. Leverage points for sustainability transformation. Ambio 46, 30–39 (2017).
Supran, G. & Oreskes, N. Rhetoric and frame analysis of ExxonMobil’s climate change communications. One Earth 4, 696–719 (2021).
Oreskes, N. & Conway, E. M. Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming (Bloomsbury, 2010).
Smith, A., Voß, J. P. & Grin, J. Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: the allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges. Res. Policy 39, 435–448 (2010).
Crona, B., Folke, C. & Galaz, V. The Anthropocene reality of financial risk. One Earth 4, 618–628 (2021).
Tracking Economic Instruments and Finance for Biodiversity (OECD, 2021); https://www.oecd.org/environment/resources/biodiversity/tracking-economic-instruments-and-finance-for-biodiversity-2021.pdf
Reyes-García, V. et al. The costs of subsidies and externalities of economic activities driving nature decline. Ambio 54, 1128–1141 (2025).
Lamine, C. & Marsden, T. Unfolding sustainability transitions in food systems: insights from UK and French trajectories. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2206231120 (2023).
Wells, P. E. System confluence and the reinvention of automobility. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120, e2206233119 (2023).
Upadhyay, A., Mukhuty, S., Kumar, V. & Kazancoglu, Y. Blockchain technology and the circular economy: implications for sustainability and social responsibility. J. Clean. Prod. 293, 126130 (2021).
Sánchez-García, E., Martínez-Falcó, J., Marco-Lajara, B. & Manresa-Marhuenda, E. Revolutionizing the circular economy through new technologies: a new era of sustainable progress. Environ. Technol. Innov. 33, 103509 (2024).
Das, O., Zafar, M. H., Sanfilippo, F., Rudra, S. & Kolhe, M. L. Advancements in digital twin technology and machine learning for energy systems: a comprehensive review of applications in smart grids, renewable energy, and electric vehicle optimisation. Energy Convers. Manag. X 24, 100715 (2024).
Kopka, A. & Grashof, N. Artificial intelligence: catalyst or barrier on the path to sustainability?. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Change 175, 121318 (2022).
Sen, A. Totally radical: from transformative research to transformative innovation. Sci. Public Policy 41, 344–358 (2014).
Pentland, B. T., Yoo, Y., Recker, J. & Kim, I. From Lock-in to transformation: a path-centric theory of emerging technology and organizing. Organ. Sci. 33, 194–211 (2021).
Ryan, P. Technocracy,’ democracy … and corruption and trust. Policy Sci. 51, 131–139 (2018).
Rajão, R. et al. The risk of fake controversies for Brazilian environmental policies. Biol. Conserv. 266, 109447 (2022).
Orlove, B. et al. Placing diverse knowledge systems at the core of transformative climate research. Ambio 52, 1431–1447 (2023).
Frantzeskaki, N., McPhearson, T. & Kabisch, N. Urban sustainability science: prospects for innovations through a system’s perspective, relational and transformations’ approaches: this article belongs to Ambio’s 50th Anniversary Collection. Ambio 50, 1650–1658 (2021).
Li, G. et al. Mixed effectiveness of global protected areas in resisting habitat loss. Nat. Commun. 15, 8389 (2024).
Massarella, K. et al. Transformation beyond conservation: how critical social science can contribute to a radical new agenda in biodiversity conservation. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 49, 79–87 (2021).
Zhang, Y. et al. Governance and conservation effectiveness in protected areas and indigenous and locally managed areas. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 48, 559–588 (2023).
Takeuchi, K. Rebuilding the relationship between people and nature: the Satoyama Initiative. Ecol. Res. 25, 891–897 (2010).
Tedesco, A. M. et al. The role of incentive mechanisms in promoting forest restoration. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 378, 20210088 (2023).
Piñeiro, V. et al. A scoping review of incentives for adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and their outcomes. Nat. Sustain. 3, 809–820 (2020).
Addison, P. F. E., Bull, J. W. & Milner-Gulland, E. J. Using conservation science to advance corporate biodiversity accountability. Conserv. Biol. 33, 307–318 (2019).
van Oorschot, M., van Tulder, R. & Kok, M. Business for Biodiversity: Mobilising Business Towards Net Positive Impact (PBL, 2020).
Wirba, A. V. Corporate social responsibility (CSR): the role of government in promoting CSR. J. Knowl. Econ. 15, 7428–7454 (2024).
Xu, Y., Li, S., Zhou, X., Shahzad, U. & Zhao, X. How environmental regulations affect the development of green finance: recent evidence from polluting firms in China. Renew. Energy 189, 917–926 (2022).
Fisher, D. R. & Nasrin, S. Climate activism and its effects. WIREs Clim. Change 12, e683 (2021).
Swilling, M. The Age of Sustainability: Just Transitions in a Complex World (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2020).
Grewal, J., Serafeim, G. & Yoon, A. S. Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues (SSRN, 2016); https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2805512
Alda, M. Corporate sustainability and institutional shareholders: the pressure of social responsible pension funds on environmental firm practices. Bus. Strategy Environ. 28, 1060–1071 (2019).
Falcone, P. M. & Sica, E. in Sustainable Finance and the Global Health Crisis (eds Falcone, P. M. & Sica, E.) Ch. 3 (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2023).
Kölbel, J. F., Heeb, F., Paetzold, F. & Busch, T. Can sustainable investing save the world? Reviewing the mechanisms of investor impact. Organ. Environ. 33, 554–574 (2020).
Galaz, V., Crona, B., Dauriach, A., Scholtens, B. & Steffen, W. Finance and the Earth system—exploring the links between financial actors and non-linear changes in the climate system. Glob. Environ. Change 53, 296–302 (2018).
Folke, C. et al. Transnational corporations and the challenge of biosphere stewardship. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 3, 1396–1403 (2019).
Jouffray, J. B., Crona, B., Wassénius, E., Bebbington, J. & Scholtens, B. Leverage points in the financial sector for seafood sustainability. Sci. Adv. 5, eaax3324 (2019).
Armitage, D., De Loë, R. & Plummer, R. Environmental governance and its implications for conservation practice. Conserv. Lett. 5, 245–255 (2012).
Gill, D. A. et al. Triple exposure: reducing negative impacts of climate change, blue growth, and conservation on coastal communities. One Earth 6, 118–130 (2023).
Blythe, J. L. et al. Blue justice: a review of emerging scholarship and resistance movements. Camb. Prism. 1, e15 (2023).
Krug, R. & Reyes-García, V. Supplementary material to ‘Actions and actors driving transformative change for global sustainability’. Zenodo https://zenodo.org/records/14712029 (2025)
Hasse, R. What difference does it make? An institutional perspective on actors and types thereof. Res. Sociol. Organ. 58, 23–41 (2019).
Park, M. S. et al. in Thematic Assessment Report on the Sustainable Use of Wild Species (eds Fromentin, J. M. et al.) Ch. 6 (IPBES, 2022).
Kelemen, E. et al. in Methodological Assessment Report on the Diverse Values and Valuation of Nature (eds Balvanera, P. et al.) Ch. 6 (IPBES, 2022).
Razzaque, J. et al. in Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (eds Brondizio, E., Diaz, S. & Settele, J.) Ch. 6 (IPBES, 2019).
Report of the Second Indigenous and Local Knowledge Dialogue Workshop on the IPBES Assessment of Transformative Change and Scenarios of the Future: Reviewing the First Draft of the Assessment (IPBES, 2023); https://files.ipbes.net/ipbes-web-prod-public-files/2023-08/IPBES_TfC_2ndILKDialogue_Report_Final_ForWeb.pdf
Díaz, S. et al. The IPBES conceptual framework—connecting nature and people. Curr. Opin. Environ. Sustain. 14, 1–16 (2015).
