Post-truth politics and the social sciences

Abstract

[Extract] In late 2015, the majority of the world's governments agreed to commenced implementation in 2016 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. No one was to be left behind. The transition to less carbon-intensive economies was to be accelerated. The momentum, we were told, was unstoppable. Of course, no one involved in negotiating the 2030 Agenda or the Paris Agreement woudl have expected them to proceed without any kind of conflict or implementation failure. Optimism should not be confused with naivety.