Enabling climate action: A nexus approach for delivering co-benefits across biodiversity, water, food, and health

Climate response options rarely affect biodiversity, water, food, and health in uniform ways. This comparative analysis examines why technically viable response options generate uneven cross-nexus outcomes, and how governance and justice conditions shape whether these outcomes become durable co-benefits. Anchored in the IPBES Nexus Assessment, the analysis synthesizes evidence from fifteen response options spanning land, ocean, energy, urban, industrial, and societal transitions. Ecosystem-centered and demand-side pathways more consistently produce synergies because they work through ecological functions that connect several nexus elements. Infrastructure- and technology-centered options deliver mitigation and health gains, but their wider effects are more context-dependent and often shaped by land use, water demand, biodiversity risk, tenure, access, and benefit-sharing. These patterns do not arise from technical design alone. By integrating nexus governance with Earth System Justice, the analysis indicates how cross-sectoral coordination, distributive equity, procedural inclusion, accountable finance, and knowledge pluralism can shape legitimacy and durability. Climate action is more likely to deliver sustained system-wide benefits when institutions align ecological interdependencies with social rights and responsibilities. Otherwise, promising interventions may remain partial, contested or short-lived.

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Publication Details

Journal
iScience
Published
2026-10-05
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117734
Primary Topic
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Enabling climate action: A nexus approach for delivering co-benefits across biodiversity, water, food, and health

Pamela D. McElwee, Pramod Kumar Singh, Siri Eriksen, Masakazu Hori et al.
iScience
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
article

Enabling climate action: A nexus approach for delivering co-benefits across biodiversity, water, food, and health

Pamela D. McElwee, Pramod Kumar Singh, Siri Eriksen, Masakazu Hori, Taylor H. Ricketts, Mariana Moncassim Vale, Mario Herrero, Himangana Gupta, Pete Smith, Sui Chian Phang, Julio Díaz‐José, Cristina Tirado, Paula A. Harrison, Helena Duchková, Francesco Cherubini, Marcos Llope, Akihiko Ito, Lakshmikant Tiwari, Tiff L. van Huysen, Daniel Mason-D'Croz, Shabana Khan, Xiyan Xu
article en

Abstract

Climate response options rarely affect biodiversity, water, food, and health in uniform ways. This comparative analysis examines why technically viable response options generate uneven cross-nexus outcomes, and how governance and justice conditions shape whether these outcomes become durable co-benefits. Anchored in the IPBES Nexus Assessment, the analysis synthesizes evidence from fifteen response options spanning land, ocean, energy, urban, industrial, and societal transitions. Ecosystem-centered and demand-side pathways more consistently produce synergies because they work through ecological functions that connect several nexus elements. Infrastructure- and technology-centered options deliver mitigation and health gains, but their wider effects are more context-dependent and often shaped by land use, water demand, biodiversity risk, tenure, access, and benefit-sharing. These patterns do not arise from technical design alone. By integrating nexus governance with Earth System Justice, the analysis indicates how cross-sectoral coordination, distributive equity, procedural inclusion, accountable finance, and knowledge pluralism can shape legitimacy and durability. Climate action is more likely to deliver sustained system-wide benefits when institutions align ecological interdependencies with social rights and responsibilities. Otherwise, promising interventions may remain partial, contested or short-lived.

iScienceVol. 29(11)
University of Vermont (US), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BR), The Nature Conservancy (US), Universidad Veracruzana (MX), Institute of Rural Management Anand (IN), University of Aberdeen (GB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO), Cornell University (US), Charles University (CZ), Instituto Español de Oceanografía (ES), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB), New York State College of Agriculture & Life Sciences (US), Sustainability Institute (ZA), Rutgers Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (NL), Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (DE), Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute (CZ), Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (JP), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (CN), United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (JP), Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, Gund Institute for Environment (US), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NO), The University of Tokyo (JP), Wageningen University & Research (NL)
Openalex Percentile: Top 23%
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
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