Sustainability

Our interdisciplinary research explores how pathways to sustainability, green transformations and equitable access to resources such as land, water and food can be achieved and help us meet the environmental as well as human development-related goals of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Our work builds on a long tradition of critical social science engagement with environmental issues and resource politics in collaboration with partners globally. It explores how pathways to sustainability are shaped by political-economic and social processes, and understands how they are driven by technology, markets, states and citizens.  Our research sheds new light on how we can achieve green transformations that move us from fossil fuel to renewable energy, from throw-away to circular economies. It addresses the politics of sustainability, and understands how transformations occur at local levels as well as global, in both rural and urban settings, and be led by citizens as well as national governments. In doing so, it shines a light on how sustainable resource use, consumption and production is shaped by issues such as gender, livelihoods and politics.

People

Melissa Leach

Emeritus Fellow

Lyla Mehta

Professorial Fellow

Ian Scoones

Professorial Fellow

Amber Huff

Research Fellow

Jeremy Allouche

Professorial Fellow

Lars Otto Naess

Research Fellow

Wei Shen

Resource Politics and Environmental Change Cluster Lead and Research Fellow

Shilpi Srivastava

Resource Politics and Environmental Change Cluster Lead and Research Fellow

Programmes and centres

Recent work

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News

New lecture series examines global solidarities for development

A new series of the Sussex Development Lectures launches this month with engaging guest speakers exploring declining multilateralism and the need to develop alternative, more effective global solidarities. Globally, international cooperation and multilateral institutions have been under...

24 October 2022

Opinion

Are livestock really bad for the planet?

Simplistic and generalised narratives paint the production of livestock – particularly red meat and milk – as a major focus for climate mitigation efforts. But such narratives raise many questions, particularly for livestock systems in the Global South.

21 October 2022

Working Paper

What is Known About Capacity and Coordination of Social Assistance Programmes in Crisis Situations?

BASIC Research Working Paper 18

This paper reviews the literature and documented evidence on capacity and coordination issues in crisis situations, where social protection and humanitarian assistance intersect.

Rachel Slater & 2 others

21 October 2022

Journal Article

Going, Going, Gone? Varieties of dissent and leader exit

We examine how popular dissent affects the likelihood that political leaders lose power, distinguishing between types of dissent in terms of nonviolent/violent primary tactics as well as the level of individual participation. We posit that protests threaten leaders both directly through the...

18 October 2022

Opinion

Charting pathways to zero poverty amidst complex crises

Can progress on poverty eradication be rescued? The World Bank has recently called for course correction but their fiscal recovery-focused blueprint is only part of the solution given the scale of the challenge. Instead, we need to forge a more ambitious transformative pathway to zero poverty...

Andrew Shepherd, Director, Chronic Poverty Advisory Network; Honorary Research Associate, IDS

17 October 2022

Opinion

Livestock, Climate and the Politics of Resources: a primer

In recent years livestock production has been criticised for contributing to the climate crisis. Several groups, including corporate lobbies and environmentalists alike, have called for a reduction in meat and milk consumption and a shift towards more plant-based diets. But these simplistic and...

14 October 2022

Working Paper

The Art and Craft of Bricolage in Evaluation

CDI Practice Paper 24

This CDI Practice Paper makes the case for ‘bricolage’ in complexity-aware and qualitative evaluation methods. It provides a framework based on a review of 33 methods to support evaluators to be more intentional about bricolage and to combine the component parts of relevant methods more...

14 October 2022

Why learn with us.

In an extraordinary time of challenge and change, we use more than 50 years of expertise to transform development approaches that create more equitable and sustainable futures. The work you do with us will help make progressive change towards universal development; to build and connect solidarities for collective action, locally and globally. The University of Sussex has been ranked 1st in the world for Development Studies for the past five years (QS World University Rankings by Subject).

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