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Current approaches and cultures for the economic evaluations of environmental and health policies may suffer from excessive reliance on a standard neoclassic economic toolbox that neglects alternative perspectives. This may prematurely limit the spectrum of available policy options. Here we show how the inclusion of neglected currents of thought such as non-Ricardian economics, bioeconomics and a set of qualitative-quantitative methods from post-normal science leads to richer perspectives for a more inclusive uses of quantitative evidence, and opens the analysis to more possible futures. We also present some case studies in the energy, water, health and climate domains that highlight the point in a practical context for a more policy-oriented audience. We situate our analysis in the context of recent calls in the EU for the inclusion of more perspectives from the social sciences and the humanities in environmental assessment works. • Current impact assessments in the field of environmental policies suffer from lack of diversity in economic thought. • A standard neoclassic economic toolbox appears to dominate methodological choices. • Non-Ricardian economics and bioeconomics can provide some diversity as well as robustness. • Also useful would be a set of qualitative-quantitative methods derived from post-normal science. • These new lenses are tested on four different relevant test cases in a European Union context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Upward convergence occurs in 7 out of 9 variables from "planet" SDGs. • Upward divergence concerns energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. • Unfavourable trajectories of change in most cases concerned Poland and Lithuania. • Denmark and France compare favourably with the EU average. Sustainable development is a challenge facing humanity. EU countries not only strive to reach their specific objectives, but they also work collaboratively towards shared goals. There is a need to balance synergies and compromises to address these objectives effectively. When discussing countries' development and people's well-being, one often focuses on socio-economic development. However, it is crucial not to overlook the environmental repercussions and the need to care for the planet. Thus, our article pays attention to the sustainable development objectives of the "planets" group. We analysed upward convergence in the scope of the "Planet" goals, i.e. the analysis of improving the results of Member States and, at the same time, reducing the differences between them. Convergence trends were examined individually for each variable and then for all variables combined (Planet). Our article fills a research gap because, to our knowledge, analyses of the trajectories of achieving individual goals in such a context have not been analysed so far. The results of our study indicate a favourable situation in the case of six out of eight examined variables. Areas in which intensification of activities is necessary for some EU countries are an increase in energy productivity and a reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions of land use. The second stage of the study concerned the development paths of individual countries. The most challenging situation concerns the variable sdg_07_20 (final energy consumption in households per capita). In this case, as many as 12 countries belong to the weak group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sensitivity analysis is used to ensure equal importance of the variables. • In the EU, synergies among SDGs (41) are more common than trade-offs (2). • SDG5 – gender equality – has the highest associations number (all positive). • SDG7 – affordable and clean energy – is not significantly related to the others. • More developed economies lead in SDGs execution (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands). Sustainable development is one of the most urgent challenges facing humanity. Its basic principle is to improve people's well-being and maintain it over time. In 2015, the United Nations approved 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to ensure a better and sustainable future for all, balancing economic, social and environmental development. SDGs create an 'indivisible whole'; thus, examining their interactions is crucial. Our goals were twofold: (i) to assess the implementation degree of SDGs in EU countries and (ii) to examine the interactions between goals. The potential to achieve a given SDG is approximated by a composite indicator, calculated based on an innovative method of implementing tools derived from sensitivity analysis (SA). Respecting the degree of variability of individual variables and their correlation, we set the weights to equalise their importance. Moreover, the application of SA allows us to remove strongly correlated variables that are not transferring supplementary information. We use countries' linear ordering and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient to assess interactions between SDGs. Our research shows that Scandinavian countries predominately occupy the leading positions, respectively, eight times on the podium for Sweden and four by Denmark (of which three as a leader). The Netherlands also stands out, occupying the superior position in the performance of SDGs 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 17. The top in achieving one of the most priority area – no poverty (SDG1) belongs to Czechia. Our study confirmed the results obtained by many researchers regarding the more potent synergy between SDGs compared to the trade-offs. The only trade-offs observed in our study relate to SDG15, which negatively correlated with SDG3 and 17. Furthermore, SDG7 was the only one not associated with others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last half a century has seen spectacular progresses in computing and modelling in a variety of fields, applications, and methodologies. Over the same period, a cross-disciplinary field known as sensitivity analysis has been making its first steps, evolving from the design of experiments for laboratory or field studies, also called 'in-vivo', to the so-called experiments 'in-silico'. Some disciplines were quick to realize the importance of sensitivity analysis, whereas others are still lagging behind. Major tensions within the evolution of this discipline arise from the interplay between local vs global perspectives in the analysis as well as the juxtaposition of the mathematical complexification and the desire for practical applicability. In this work, we retrace these main steps with some attention to the methods and through a bibliometric survey to assess the accomplishments of sensitivity analysis and to identify the potential for its future advancement with a focus on relevant disciplines, such as the environmental field. • The manuscript offers a detailed timeline of sensitivity analysis, tracing its evolution from local to global methods. • The manuscript includes a bibliometric survey assessing sensitivity analysis achievements and identifying future directions and areas of growth in the field. • We believe our research significantly contributes to the academic discourse on sensitivity analysis, aligning well with the focus of your journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]