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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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Showing 1057–1068 of 15397 results

News

Impacts of FCDO cuts on vulnerable women and girls revealed

The UK Parliament’s International Development Committee has published the FCDO's own Equality Impact Assessment, compiled earlier this year to assess the impact of the significant cuts to the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget for 2023-24. Widely reported in the media, the...

2 August 2023

Opinion

How war and crises in Tigray triggered an urban agriculture boom

Tigray in northern Ethiopia has been devastated by a brutal war since November 2020, which included a siege and blockade that stopped all communications and most essential services, along with humanitarian supplies. A typical example of urban agriculture practised in Mekelle city during the...

2 August 2023

Impact Story

How IDS research and expertise is influencing policy

How evidence is generated, shared and used underpins our drive to increase equity in knowledge production. We challenge knowledge hierarchies and explore ways to think more deeply about evidence and impact. Over the past year, that impact could be seen in IDS research influencing policy and...

1 August 2023

News

Podcast: Industrialisation and ethnic change in the modern world

Much has been written about industrialisation and the growth of economies transforming people’s lives, but little is written about how industrialisation can transform ethnicity within countries. In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, IDS Research Fellow Max Gallien, interviews...

1 August 2023

Report

Adapting Menstrual Health Interventions for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Emergencies

Frontiers of Sanitation 22

The Bishesta campaign – a menstrual health intervention for people with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers in Nepal, was developed to help improve menstrual health for this population in non-humanitarian settings. The campaign was developed by the London School of Hygiene &...

31 July 2023

Impact Story

Collaborating and knowledge sharing through our International Initiatives

The IDS International Initiatives are spaces for researchers, governments and civil society from diverse locations to share new perspectives on tackling global challenges. Below is a snapshot of some of the activity that has taken place over the last twelve months. Brazil The IDS Brazil...

28 July 2023

Brief

Crisis in Sudan: Briefing Note on Displacement from Sudan to South Sudan

SSHAP Briefing

The experiences of those fleeing from Sudan to South Sudan due to the current conflict are shaped by the complex socio-political dynamics within and between the two countries. This briefing focuses on the historical and socio-political dynamics that need to be taken into consideration by...

Naomi Pendle & 5 others

28 July 2023

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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