The transition from below: Aspirations, problems and policy solutions across the globe

Nation states, regions and communities across the globe experience “losses and damages to nature and people”, but those “who have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected […]” (IPCC, 2023:5). This report addresses how governments – from the perspective of different interest groups and citizens – should balance efforts to tackle ecological challenges, including climate change, with economic and social priorities. Adopting a cross-national comparative case study approach, we investigate citizens’ perspectives on sustainability transitions in seven countries – Hungary, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – located in different global regions. We study similarities and differences in relation to citizens’ aspirations, perceived problems and ideas about transition policy.

A key contribution of the study is the use of an open-source world-building tabletop game, Le Grand Jeu, to elicit the perspectives of citizens in widely different settings. Research teams in the selected countries organised workshops where the participants were invited to play a customised version of the Le Grand Jeu, followed by a more structured group discussions.

The findings suggest that that the vision of sustainability is an uncontroversial and shared objective across Europe and the Global South. The satisfaction of basic needs and a reduction of social inequalities stood out as defining features of sustainable human development and must underpin policies for ecological sustainability. The lack of opportunities for citizen participation and empowerment was perceived as a shortcoming in the development of policies for sustainability in Europe as well as in the Global South countries. Overall, citizens’ perspectives are shaped by contextual and structural factors, like the level of social and economic development, institutional and government capacity, and ecological vulnerabilities, leading to variation in the policy issues that stand at the forefront of national and local sustainability transition agendas. The Global South countries placed a stronger emphasis on economic development and the improvement of material living standards, while the issue of overconsumption featured more prominently in the European countries.