ESPM 101A - The Politics and Practice of Sustainability Transitions

Human societies have significant knowledge about environmental and social problems, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and chemical pollution, as well as the underlying causes. We have a growing sense of what could be done to make societies more sustainable and just. Yet there appear to be many obstacles and much inertia in progressing towards implementing deeper changes in complex social and economic systems, from the food system to chemical manufacturing to urban transportation. This course explores sustainability transitions as a way to work through the politics and practice of making significant changes in societies, economies, and political institutions.