Promoting sustainable development worldwide in the metacoupled anthropocene

Qutu Jiang; Zhenci Xu; Nishan Bhattarai; Yinyi Lin; Huijuan Xiao; Jingzheng Ren; Markus Pahlow; Zhimeng Jiang; Yali Liu; Xutong Wu; Guanqiong Ye; Hongsheng Zhang; Jinbao Li; Peng Zhu; Shunlin Liang; Yuanzheng Cui; Chuan Liao; Liang Dong; Jianguo Liu

doi:10.1038/s41467-026-68653-4

Promoting sustainable development worldwide in the metacoupled anthropocene

Qutu Jiang
, Zhenci Xu^*
, Nishan Bhattarai
, Yinyi Lin
, Huijuan Xiao
, Jingzheng Ren
, Markus Pahlow
, Zhimeng Jiang
, Yali Liu
, Xutong Wu
, Guanqiong Ye
, Hongsheng Zhang
, Jinbao Li
, Peng Zhu
, Shunlin Liang
, Yuanzheng Cui
, Chuan Liao
, Liang Dong
, Jianguo Liu^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

7 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Promoting sustainable development worldwide requires collaborative efforts across interconnected systems under integrated frameworks. Here, we illustrate the integrated metacoupling framework as a holistic lens for analyzing human-nature interactions within and between systems to advance integrated sustainability analysis. We propose six interrelated steps to operationalize the framework for Sustainable Development Goals’ interaction analysis, progress assessment, and pathway modeling, contributing to the integration of knowledge for the 2030 Agenda and emphasizing “Leave No One Behind”. We demonstrate that the framework offers interdisciplinary researchers a practical toolkit and supports policymakers in developing synergistic cross-system strategies for sustainable development across local to global scales.

© The Author(s) 2026

Original language	English
Article number	1491
Number of pages	15
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	17
Online published	2 Feb 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68653-4
Publication status	Published - 2026

Funding

The authors would like to acknowledge the reviewers whose constructive comments and suggestions greatly improved this manuscript. Funding from the Excellent Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (#42422105, to Z.X.), the University of Hong Kong HKU-100 Scholars Fund (to Z.X.), the Hui Oi-Chow Trust Fund of the University of Hong Kong, U.S. National Science Foundation (Grants No. 1924111, 2033507 and 2118329), the USDA NIFA (2023-68012-39076), Michigan AgBioResearch, and the Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science are gratefully acknowledged.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Publisher's Copyright Statement

This full text is made available under CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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title = "Promoting sustainable development worldwide in the metacoupled anthropocene",

abstract = "Promoting sustainable development worldwide requires collaborative efforts across interconnected systems under integrated frameworks. Here, we illustrate the integrated metacoupling framework as a holistic lens for analyzing human-nature interactions within and between systems to advance integrated sustainability analysis. We propose six interrelated steps to operationalize the framework for Sustainable Development Goals{\textquoteright} interaction analysis, progress assessment, and pathway modeling, contributing to the integration of knowledge for the 2030 Agenda and emphasizing “Leave No One Behind”. We demonstrate that the framework offers interdisciplinary researchers a practical toolkit and supports policymakers in developing synergistic cross-system strategies for sustainable development across local to global scales. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2026",

author = "Qutu Jiang and Zhenci Xu and Nishan Bhattarai and Yinyi Lin and Huijuan Xiao and Jingzheng Ren and Markus Pahlow and Zhimeng Jiang and Yali Liu and Xutong Wu and Guanqiong Ye and Hongsheng Zhang and Jinbao Li and Peng Zhu and Shunlin Liang and Yuanzheng Cui and Chuan Liao and Liang Dong and Jianguo Liu",

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T1 - Promoting sustainable development worldwide in the metacoupled anthropocene

AU - Jiang, Qutu

AU - Xu, Zhenci

AU - Bhattarai, Nishan

AU - Lin, Yinyi

AU - Xiao, Huijuan

AU - Ren, Jingzheng

AU - Pahlow, Markus

AU - Jiang, Zhimeng

AU - Liu, Yali

AU - Wu, Xutong

AU - Ye, Guanqiong

AU - Zhang, Hongsheng

AU - Li, Jinbao

AU - Zhu, Peng

AU - Liang, Shunlin

AU - Cui, Yuanzheng

AU - Liao, Chuan

AU - Dong, Liang

AU - Liu, Jianguo

PY - 2026

Y1 - 2026

N2 - Promoting sustainable development worldwide requires collaborative efforts across interconnected systems under integrated frameworks. Here, we illustrate the integrated metacoupling framework as a holistic lens for analyzing human-nature interactions within and between systems to advance integrated sustainability analysis. We propose six interrelated steps to operationalize the framework for Sustainable Development Goals’ interaction analysis, progress assessment, and pathway modeling, contributing to the integration of knowledge for the 2030 Agenda and emphasizing “Leave No One Behind”. We demonstrate that the framework offers interdisciplinary researchers a practical toolkit and supports policymakers in developing synergistic cross-system strategies for sustainable development across local to global scales. © The Author(s) 2026

AB - Promoting sustainable development worldwide requires collaborative efforts across interconnected systems under integrated frameworks. Here, we illustrate the integrated metacoupling framework as a holistic lens for analyzing human-nature interactions within and between systems to advance integrated sustainability analysis. We propose six interrelated steps to operationalize the framework for Sustainable Development Goals’ interaction analysis, progress assessment, and pathway modeling, contributing to the integration of knowledge for the 2030 Agenda and emphasizing “Leave No One Behind”. We demonstrate that the framework offers interdisciplinary researchers a practical toolkit and supports policymakers in developing synergistic cross-system strategies for sustainable development across local to global scales. © The Author(s) 2026

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U2 - 10.1038/s41467-026-68653-4

DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-68653-4

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 17

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 1491

ER -

Promoting sustainable development worldwide in the metacoupled anthropocene

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Publisher's Copyright Statement

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