How can critical views of ‘stories’ help in seeking pathways to sustainability? I’ve recently got back from the Communicate conference where I talked about stories using examples from the STEPS Centre’s projects (see previous post). The conference strapline was “Stories for Change”, which taps into a growing awareness of the competing stories we tell ourselves…
Why we should embrace different stories in sustainability
COP19: A push for pro-poor low carbon development
Julia Day, STEPS Centre Communications Manager All too often discussions about low carbon technologies range around the interests of high and middle income countries, but fail to factor in the needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). But there are compelling reasons why a broader definition of technology can help low carbon, pro-poor pathways to sustainability…
Grassroots innovations: special issue of ‘Global Environmental Change’
The latest issue of the research journal Global Environmental Change is dedicated to the topic of grassroots innovation for sustainability. The special issue contains six original research articles which focus on the US and Europe, guest edited by Adrian Smith and Gill Seyfang. These articles were selected from papers presented at a research workshop held…
When global climate change politics meets African agriculture
by Joanes Atela, Political Ecologies of Carbon in Africa project As nations debate climate change this week at the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19), addressing the urgent questions linking agriculture and climate change is not only politically, but morally the right thing to do. Agriculture tops the list of climate-affected sectors, with complex implications…
World Social Science Report 2013: Navigating pathways in the safe and just space for humanity
A framework for negotiating pathways to a safe and just sustainable future for people and planet is presented by Melissa Leach, STEPS Centre director, in a new article for the World Social Science Report 2013, launched today. Prof. Leach and her co-authors Johan Rockström, director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) and economist Kate Raworth, combine…
Big stories, little stories
This is the (slightly edited) text of my talk at Communicate 2013, in a session called “liberating stories”. The pictures are some of the slides I used. The brief was to provide some suggestions about the role of the social sciences in ‘liberating stories’ for environmental communicators, through memorable examples. I only had 10 minutes…
COP19: Cutting edge policy research
The ESRC STEPS Centre is seeking to address the many different impacts that climate change has on peoples’ lives and livelihoods in sustainable ways that work for people and planet, using their own knowledge and expertise through our research with partners around the world. The COP19 United Nations summit on climate change in Warsaw, Poland (11-22 November 2013) played…
New book: land deals and the state
A new book examines the state’s role in land deals through theoretical insights and empirical studies from around the globe. Governing Global Land Deals: The Role of the State in the Rush for Land analyses the relationships between global land grabs and processes of government and governance. STEPS co-director Ian Scoones is among the editors….