Emergy analysis for addressing the complexity of climate actions

In this Commentary, we advocate the use of emergy (spelled with “m”) analysis to address and quantify – alongside with the scientific ones – the legal and social aspects that take part in the planning of climate policies and actions. Emergy analysis is suitable to approach the complexity of both local and global climate-related issues, offering a peculiar epistemology that overcomes the anthropocentric nature of current measures. At the same time, it allows the assessment of both nature and human-based flows of resources within a thermodynamic quantitative framework.