Papers by Chukwumerije Okereke
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Annals of the American Association of Geographers
Environmental assessments increasingly call for just transformations, yet do not offer concrete v... more Environmental assessments increasingly call for just transformations, yet do not offer concrete visions of what these might be. This paper conceptualizes and operationalizes Earth system justice (ESJ) through articulating just ends which minimize significant harm to humans from Earth system change while ensuring access to needed resources for all and just means which involve reallocation of resources, responsibilities, and risks. We argue that Earth system justice is underpinned by recognition and epistemic justice, inclusivity and procedural justice, and corrective and distributive justice with a scope that encompasses intragenerational, intergenerational, and interspecies justice concerns. This Earth system justice framework provides the theoretical underpinning for assessing proposals for international environmental policy based on Earth System Boundaries (ESBs) and for proposing just approaches to sustainability transformations.
Routledge Handbook of Global Sustainability Governance
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019
Homegrown Development in Africa, 2015
WIREs Climate Change, 2022
Solar geoengineering is gaining prominence in climate change debates as an issue worth studying; ... more Solar geoengineering is gaining prominence in climate change debates as an issue worth studying; for some it is even a potential future policy option. We argue here against this increasing normalization of solar geoengineering as a speculative part of the climate policy portfolio. We contend, in particular, that solar geoengineering at planetary scale is not governable in a globally inclusive and just manner within the current international political system. We therefore call upon governments and the United Nations to take immediate and effective political control over the development of solar geoengineering technologies.
Journal of Energy Technologies and Policy, 2020
Nigeria's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) shows commitment to supporting the Paris Agree... more Nigeria's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) shows commitment to supporting the Paris Agreement towards reducing the global warming and negative impacts of climate change. However, some gaps need to be bridged in order to make Nigeria's NDC more ambitious and effective. Therefore, this paper presents energy scenarios that could support the revision of existing Nigeria's NDC to ambitiously limit GHG emissions while promoting increased access to green energy. The paper systematically establishes gaps in the existing NDC, namely circumvention of subsisting energy-related policies, lumped energy efficiency pathways, overconcentration on solar PV, neglect of the residential sector, neglect of advanced emissions control technology and neglect of on-grid renewable energy utilisation. The paper also presents pertinent recommendations to bridge the established gaps, which are critical for the NDC revision. It is pertinent that the NDC revision should consider all the aspects of energy supply and demand sides in a transparent and equitable process. It envisaged that the judicious and equitable consideration of the recommendations in this work would make Nigeria's NDC ambitious and effective.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
Earth System Governance, 2020
We are in the middle of a planetary crisis that urgently requires stronger modes of earth system ... more We are in the middle of a planetary crisis that urgently requires stronger modes of earth system governance. At the same time, calls for justice are becoming increasingly pronounced in sustainability research: there can be no effective planetary stewardship without planetary justice. Rapid planetaryscale processes have reinforced and further created vast injustices at international, national, and subnational levels. Often, the burden has fallen most severely on the poor and marginalized communities. Yet the literature on planetary justice tends to stay at the level of ideal conceptions and abstract normative arguments of justice theory, without an explicit concern for the needs of the poor. In this Perspective, we focus discussions of planetary justice on the needs of the poorest. We discuss whether the dominant approaches to planetary stewardship and earth system governance are apt at realizing a pro-poor vision of justice and what alternative approaches might be needed.
Society & Natural Resources, 2018
The roundtable on sustainable palm oil (RSPO), the round table on responsible soy (RTRS), the bet... more The roundtable on sustainable palm oil (RSPO), the round table on responsible soy (RTRS), the better cotton initiative (BCI), and the forest stewardship council (FSC) are examples of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs), established to foster sustainable commodity production. While these programs are promoted as collaborative schemes for natural resource management, the significant gap in understanding of MSIs' effectiveness presents a major concern over the credibility and legitimacy of such programs. We explore stakeholders' perceptions of the environmental effectiveness of four MSIs in relation to their impacts in reducing agrochemical use and conserving habitats. We found that stakeholders feel positive about the role of the schemes in advocating environmental sustainability in the commodity sectors, and establishing norms of good practice. However, numerous issues, including the inadequate monitoring and evaluation contribute to perceptions of ineffectiveness and a lack of confidence in the schemes' ability to drive fundamental transformation in environmental performance.
Thunderbird International Business Review, 2018
We investigate the impact of economic, institutional, and ethical pressures on African managers' ... more We investigate the impact of economic, institutional, and ethical pressures on African managers' corporate social and environmental attitude based on a survey involving 377 Nigerian executives in the extractive industry. We find that environmental orientation and behavior are mostly induced by instrumental economic motives, while ethical considerations exert a weak impact. This finding is significant because it contradicts mainstream corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature in Africa, which suggests the dominance of the culturally based, altruistic African Ubuntu philosophy. Based on this research finding, we suggest that economic globalization has spurned a transnational capitalist cadre of managers whose values are shaped far more by global capitalist instincts than any putative cultural philosophy. The findings also undercut the fundamental logic underpinning the numerous global initiatives to promote environmental responsibility by multinational corporations in developing countries, which assumes that managers will pursue environmental sustainability voluntarily in the absence of robust regulations and strict enforcement. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
World Development, 2019
The concept of 'sustainable industrialisation' is now integral to the UN's Sustainable Developmen... more The concept of 'sustainable industrialisation' is now integral to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. However, there are no historical examples or current models to emulate. Scholarly analyses of putative initiatives to green industrialisation, especially in developing countries, are few and limited. This article explores the conception and implementation of green industrialisation in Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest nations, where an ambitious Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy has been created, alongside a multi-sectoral Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), to leapfrog environmentally unsustainable development and bring the country to middle-income status by 2025. Using the sociotechnical transition (STT) perspective and in particular Smith, Stirling, and Berkhout (2005) framework for assessing sustainable transition programmes, it analyzes the 'selection pressures' on the industrial 'regime' and its 'adaptive capacity'. It finds: (i) clear articulation of the imperative for climate change mitigation and economic growth; (ii) strong high-level government commitment to a greening agenda within the context of accelerated industrialisation; and (iii) a nascent innovation system that is beginning to evolve according to these priorities. However, the analysis also identifies important challenges, including: coordination mechanisms between different stakeholders; framing issues; availability of resources; and ongoing tension between addressing climate change and promoting economic growth. It also highlights the importance of the availability of cross-border resources for purposive sustainability transition within low-income countries.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017
Ethiopia has recently committed to economic transformation and industrialisation through a low-ca... more Ethiopia has recently committed to economic transformation and industrialisation through a low-carbon development trajectory. Existing literature highlights innovation as a critical driver of industrialisation, and the need for 'green' innovations to improve resource productivity and reduce pollution. However, empirical studies investigating the nexus between green innovation systems and industrialisation in developing countries are limited. Based on nine semi-structured interviews and a survey of 117 firms, this paper assesses sectoral systems of innovation in Ethiopia's cement, leather and textile sectors, with a view to understanding their functioning toward supporting green industrialisation. Results revealed low rates of product and process innovations among firms in Ethiopia. The main inhibitors of innovation are high costs of technology, inadequate finance and limited information. Improving competitiveness is the main driver of firms' innovation, while reducing environmental impacts and meeting environmental regulations were among the least important motivators. Moreover, interactions among firms, government and other actors encourage innovation. The study therefore suggests enhancing coordination among key actors, providing financial incentives for firms, and enforcing environmental regulations.
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Papers by Chukwumerije Okereke