Understanding the Social Drivers
of Global Environmental Change
Prof. Julia Leventon
Overview
• What causes climate change?
• What causes biodiversity loss?
• Symptoms of the same social problem
• Understanding social drivers for creating
responses
• Essay assignment!
What causes climate change?
What causes biodiversity loss?
Are they symptoms of the same
social problem?
See also:
https://ejatlas.org/print/the-aral-sea-dried-due-to
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
• In the EU, over 58 million tonnes of food waste (131 kg/inhabitant)
are generated annually (Eurostat, 2023), with an associated market
value estimated at 132 billion euros (SWD (2023)421).
• Eurostat roughly estimates that around 10% of food made available
to EU consumers (at retail, food services and households) may
be wasted. At the same time, over 37 million people cannot afford a
quality meal every second day (Eurostat, 2023).
• Globally, approximately a third of all food produced for human
consumption is lost or wasted (FAO, 2011). FAO's Food Loss Index
(FLI) estimates that globally, around 14 percent of all food
produced is lost from the post-harvest stage up to, but excluding, the
retail stage (FAO, 2019).
See: https://food.ec.europa.eu/safety/food-waste_en
“Yes, perhaps, but these caves have highly efficient facilities for
cooking, storing food and washing clothes; low energy lighting
throughout; 50L of clean water supplied per day per person, with
15L heated to a comfortable bathing temperature; they maintain
an air temperature of around 20oC throughout the year,
irrespective of geography; have a computer with access to global
ICT networks; are linked to extensive transport networks
providing 5000-15000km of mobility per person each year via
various modes; and are also served by substantially larger caves
where universal healthcare is available and others that provide
education for everyone between 5 and 19 years old.”
Milward-Hopkins et al., 2020
The Social Drivers of Global Environmental Change
• Three underlying causes
• Domination over people and nature
• Prioritisation of immediate, individual material gains
• Accumulation of power and wealth
• Enacted and reinforced through our political systems,
laws and behaviours (indirect drivers)
• Create emissions, pollution, demand for energy (direct
drivers)
• Provide barriers to change
• Domination over people and nature
From Raya, 2022
• Prioritisation of immediate and individual material
gains
• See e.g. Ben Ansell: Why Politics Fails
• Prosperity trap – what makes us richer in the short
term, makes us poorer in the long-term
• See e.g. David Runciman: How Democracy Ends
• See e.g. Rebecca Willis: Too Hot to Handle
• Difference in electoral cycles and the timeframe of
e.g. climate change
• Accumulation of power and wealth
• Conclusions
Essays
The assessment is a written essay. The student will select a topic from the course that
they have found interesting, and create an essay title for themselves. The teaching team
will help in guiding on a suitable title and the content. Therefore, the assessment is in two
parts, to allow a chance for the teachers to provide useful feedback for students to build
on:
• Essay title and outline (20%)
• 2 Pages with sub headings and bullet points
• Completed essay (80%)
• 2000 words
• Referencing academic literature (reference list is not included in word count)
Thank You!
• Email: leventon.j@czechglobe.cz
• Twitter: @julialeventon
• https://sustainablecz.org/