Ensuring Sustainable Development

Scorching summer days are nothing new in India. Yet in May this year, the temperature in Delhi hit a new staggering high of 49C. Scientists have predicted that without urgent reductions in carbon emissions, parts of India will be uninhabitable by the 2030s. 

This bitter reality is replicated around the world, where developing nations are stuck between the need to develop and the demands to cut emissions. And yet, per capita, carbon emissions in developing nations sit well below those of developed nations. As officials come together ahead of the United Nations climate conference in November, there are again calls for greater support for emerging and developing nations. 

And yet, for all the talk of crisis, there are signs that the combined challenge of climate change and global poverty alleviation could transform how we approach development. If developed and developing nations can unite to mobilise their ingenuity and investment and pair it with the vibrancy and innovation of emerging economies, perhaps a new route of sustainable development can be charted – one that reduces global inequalities and protects the planet for future generations. 

As the UCL Policy Lab launches the third of our research themes, Ensuring Sustainable Development, we aim to understand the competing forces at play and advocate for policies that ensure sustainable development. And it’s not just about the global. Here at UCL, researchers are working on a range of projects to understand how we can ensure sustainable development—working with local communities to understand how development can reduce inequality and pollution. Lessons learnt here in London can be applied around the world. And vice versa. 

Building on the incredible work of units such as the Development Engagement Lab, Ensuring Sustainable Development will capture the energy of UCL to generate new ideas and methods for engaging with the debate. It will draw upon the breadth of cutting-edge techniques available to give a detailed analysis of how we best manage the complexity of our disrupted world and ensure that policymakers are equipped with all the research necessary for informed decision-making. 

Alongside our launch, we’re publishing a series of essays from researchers across UCL. These essays act as the starting point for a conversation we invite you to, an attempt to break down the barriers between our institutions, communities and disciplines. From getting climate policy and climate politics to work together, from whether Internet accessibility drives economic development to theoretical models for understanding complexity to how we manage exposure to risks for renewable investment, we want to ask the questions communities and citizens are asking - and we want you to join the conversation. 

To get the latest on our work and collaborations, you can join our mailing list or follow us on Twitter. We’ll be sharing opportunities to collaborate and come together. Our themes, including Ensuring Sustainable Development, will be appointing Heads of Themes, and for those wishing to help lead these conversations, you can contact policylab@ucl.ac.uk.