Multidisciplinarity and Climate Crisis: A Critical Introduction
Muhammad Syarahil Mutianwar Efendi
Introduction
Over the past several decades, numerous significant multidisciplinary research collaborations have made major contributions to our understanding of the complex and pressing issue of climate change. It is one of the exact reasons that the term climate change has already shifted toward the climate crisis, to bolden the Earth’s severe sickness that faces humanity and to take it on urgent matters, an emergency condition for our governments to act swiftly rightfully. These collaborations have brought together experts from various fields, including ecology, meteorology, economics, engineering, sociology, and more, to tackle the challenge of understanding and addressing the impacts of the climate crisis.
The parable of the blind men and the elephant may fit perfectly in our inquiry. It tells the tale of a group of blind men who have never encountered an elephant and learn and imagine what it is like by touching it. Each blind man feels a different part of the elephant’s body, such as the side or the tusk, but only one part at a time. They then describe the elephant based on their limited experience, and their descriptions of the elephant differ. The moral of the parable is that humans have the propensity to assert absolute truth based on their limited, subjective experience while ignoring the limited, subjective experiences of others, which may be equally valid. Now, here is the case. A lawyer may argue that an elephant is the foot, oceanographers will say it is the tail, and economists say it is the trunk. While all of them are right, it is partial rightness and far from representing a bigger picture: A complete elephant. Furthermore, this metaphorical elephant parable represents the crisis we face.
One prominent example of a critical multidisciplinary collaboration is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which the United Nations established in 1988 to provide a comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the science, impacts, and potential policy responses to climate change. The IPCC brings together scientists, economists, policy experts, and other stakeholders from around the world to assess the latest scientific evidence and produce regular reports that are widely used by policymakers and the public to guide decision-making on climate change; in fact, it is without losing sight of the fact that many criticisms of the IPCC and UNFCCC must be addressed too, inherently.
Understanding the climate crisis requires an interdisciplinary approach that moves one step from multidisciplinarity. This crisis results from various human activities that emit greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, causing the Earth’s average surface temperature to rise. The physical and biological sciences play a crucial role in comprehending the mechanisms that drive climate change, whereas the issue’s economic, political, and social dimensions inform potential mitigation and adaptation strategies. This double realm of knowledge based on empiricism (social) and rationalities (sciences) must be converged to create comprehensive solutions, and the approach toward this endeavor is interdisciplinarity.
Climatology, meteorology, atmospheric science, and oceanography are the physical sciences necessary for understanding the climate crisis. These disciplines investigate the atmosphere and oceans of the Earth, as well as their interactions with the planet’s surface. They investigate the effects of changes in atmospheric and oceanic conditions, such as temperature, pressure, and wind patterns, on long-term climate patterns. For instance, scientists use historical data and models to comprehend how global warming impacts the frequency and severity of weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, hurricanes, and floods. Analyzing these patterns makes it possible to predict future climate scenarios and assess the risks and effects of climate change. In addition to the physical sciences, the biological sciences are vital to comprehending the climate crisis. Ecology, conservation biology, and biogeography are a few disciplines that examine the interactions between living organisms and their environment. These disciplines investigate the effects of changes in temperature and precipitation patterns on ecosystems, such as animal migration patterns and plant growth. The effects of rising sea levels and ocean acidification on marine life, such as coral reefs and fish populations, are also studied by biologists. Understanding these biological effects is essential for developing strategies to preserve biodiversity and sustain food systems in a changing climate.
However, the climate crisis transcends the realm of science. Understanding the problem’s economic, political, and social dimensions is essential to developing practical solutions. The economic effects of climate change include the costs associated with adapting to changing climate conditions and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. It also includes the financial effects on industries, such as agriculture, fisheries, and tourism, that depend heavily on weather patterns and climate stability. Understanding the economic effects of climate change is necessary for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding infrastructure investment and the transition to renewable energy sources.
The political aspects of the climate crisis include the policies and regulations implemented by nations and communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. International agreements, such as the Paris Agreement, aiming to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C. Implementing these policies necessitates the cooperation and collaboration of nations and communities, which can be difficult due to divergent economic priorities and interests. Understanding the political dimensions of the climate crisis is essential for developing effective cross-border policies and strategies. Furthermore, the social aspects of the climate crisis include the effects on communities and individuals, such as their health, safety, and well-being. The climate crisis exacerbates existing social inequalities, with the most vulnerable communities frequently being the most brutal hit. For instance, extreme weather events can cause displacement, property loss, and loss of means of subsistence, resulting in food and water shortages, poverty, and social unrest. Understanding the social aspects of the climate crisis is necessary for developing equitable and just solutions that address the needs of all communities.
Multidisciplinarity and Few Aspects of Climate Justice
The concept of climate justice, which includes recognizing and addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, promoting social equity, and incorporating Indigenous knowledge and perspectives, necessitates a multidisciplinary approach. Research that draws on various disciplines, including the social sciences, the humanities, the natural sciences, and Indigenous knowledge systems, can shed light on how best to promote equitable and sustainable responses to climate change.
Understanding and addressing the disproportionate effects of climate change on low-income communities, communities of color, and Indigenous communities are all areas where multidisciplinary perspectives can inform climate justice efforts. These inequalities can be explained by various factors, including those in the social, economic, and political spheres; and multidisciplinary studies can investigate these factors and how they can be mitigated. The potential of community-based solutions to promote resilience and adaptation, for instance, can be studied through multidisciplinary research examining the effects of climate change on health outcomes, housing, and access to natural resources in vulnerable communities.
It is also crucial to promote social equity and justice in climate policy and decision-making, and this is another area where multidisciplinary perspectives can inform climate justice efforts. The social and economic factors contributing to climate inequality can be explored through multidisciplinary research, and policy solutions that prioritize social equity and justice can be identified. The potential for community-led initiatives to promote social equity and justice in climate policy is one area that could benefit from the interdisciplinary study, as is the effect of climate policies on job creation and economic development in underserved communities.
There can be no progress toward climate justice and sustainability without considering and incorporating Indigenous knowledge and perspectives. Knowledge systems that have been around for a long time have an advantage regarding sustainable resource management, adaptation, and resilience because they recognize the interdependence of human and natural systems. Integrating Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into climate solutions and the potential for partnerships between Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous researchers and policymakers can be explored through multidisciplinary research. Indigenous perspectives on climate change adaptation and resilience, for instance, could be studied, as could the role of Indigenous knowledge in promoting sustainable agricultural practices and traditional ecological knowledge in managing natural resources.
Barriers and Challenges
Multidisciplinary research on the climate crisis is essential for addressing the problem’s complexity and magnitude. However, such research is hindered by disciplinary boundaries, communication issues, and funding restrictions. The first two are inherent challenges for our academia and researchers, while the latter is a blatant issue on the government. The existence of disciplinary boundaries is one of the most significant barriers to multidisciplinary research. Each discipline has its language, methods, and culture, making it difficult for researchers from different disciplines to collaborate. This can result in miscommunications, misunderstandings, and disagreements regarding research objectives, methods, and outcomes. For instance, climate scientists may utilize complex models and data analysis techniques that are difficult for social scientists or policymakers to comprehend. In contrast, social scientists may emphasize human behavior and decision-making, which may not be a priority for climate scientists.
Communication issues are an additional significant obstacle for multidisciplinary research on the climate crisis. Effective communication fosters trust and collaboration and ensures stakeholders share and utilize research results. However, researchers from various fields may have varying communication preferences, styles, and expectations. For instance, climate scientists may prefer to disseminate their findings via technical reports or scientific journals, whereas policymakers may require concise and easily accessible summaries that can inform their decision-making.
Also posing a significant obstacle to multidisciplinary research on the climate crisis are funding restrictions. Prioritizing disciplinary research or narrowly defined research topics by funding agencies and institutions, in which government is crucial, may discourage interdisciplinary collaborations. In addition, multidisciplinary research may require more resources, time, and effort than disciplinary research because it involves coordinating and integrating diverse perspectives, methodologies, and data sources. This can make securing funding and maintaining long-term research collaborations challenging. To overcome these obstacles and challenges, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, building trust and relationships among researchers, and cultivating a culture of collaboration and inclusiveness is essential. This can be accomplished via interdisciplinary training and education programs, research centers and initiatives, and funding mechanisms that support multidisciplinary research. In addition, researchers should be encouraged to communicate their findings to various audiences, engage with stakeholders, and incorporate multiple perspectives and values into their work.
Public Policies Towards Multidisciplinarity
The public sector has the potential to play a pivotal role in making multidisciplinarity work the norm in universities. Policies and initiatives that encourage cross-disciplinary work and study must be the main priority for the government to pursue. Supporting interdisciplinary research through government grants and scholarships is one such action. This will incentivize researchers and institutions to engage in interdisciplinary work and allocate resources accordingly.
Education and training programs that encourage interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration are another way the government can foster multidisciplinarity in the university. For example, universities and other institutions could provide students and researchers with interdisciplinary workshops, seminars, and mentorship programs to help them acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct multidisciplinary research. In addition, the government can fund research centers and facilities that facilitate collaboration between specialists from different fields to facilitate further interdisciplinary study. A culture of collaboration and interdisciplinary innovation can be encouraged by providing venues for researchers to share their findings and methods.
Incorporating interdisciplinary research into academic promotion and tenure criteria is one example of how the government recognizes and evaluates this type of work. This will ensure that interdisciplinary research is valued within academic institutions and incentivize researchers to participate. The government can facilitate collaboration and research across disciplines by forming partnerships between universities and other sectors like industry and government agencies. These collaborations can advance interdisciplinary research and contribute to solutions for complex challenges like the climate crisis by providing researchers with opportunities to work on problems that have real-world implications and by ensuring the relevance and impact of the research being conducted. The government can significantly bring multidisciplinary approaches to the forefront of academic life by providing funding, physical space, and incentives for interdisciplinary work. In this way, the government can foster cooperation and creativity, which is crucial to progress on pressing social issues like the climate crisis.
