Striving for sustainability in an unequal world

Inequality is one of the key social challenges of our time. Reducing inequality is not only a policy target for many nations but can also impact the biosphere, and as such, can shape the achievement of sustainable development goals. However, remarkably little work has sought to understand the effect of inequalities on the natural environment. This talk will explore what work has been done to date on inequalities (in both natural and social systems) and its role in shaping environmental sustainability and introduce some preliminary findings and ongoing research on the topic. It will identify some of the key disciplines and concepts from the natural and social sciences that could start to unravel this complex link further, and discuss the merits of future research in such an unexplored research topic.