Climate Justice, Sustainability and Development

Climate justice, sustainability and development is a degree that takes seriously both the science of climate change and the deeply uneven way its consequences are distributed across the world. It is a discipline that asks not just what is happening to the planet but who bears the greatest burden, who makes the decisions and whose interests are reflected in the solutions being proposed. Drawing on environmental studies, development theory, political economy and ethics, it equips you to engage with these questions with both intellectual rigour and practical purpose.

At the University of Sussex this three-year programme, which includes a foundation year and the option of a year abroad, examines the science of climate and environmental change alongside the political, economic and social systems that shape how societies respond to it. You will study theories of sustainable development, the history and politics of international climate negotiations, the concept of climate justice and its implications for policy, and the challenges facing communities in the global South who are already living with the consequences of climate change they did little to cause. The foundation year builds your academic skills and introduces you to the interdisciplinary frameworks the degree depends on, while the year abroad option allows you to engage directly with climate and development challenges in a different national context.

Graduates of this programme are well prepared for careers in the environmental, development and policy sectors. Roles in international NGOs, government environment departments, development agencies, sustainability teams in the private sector, climate advocacy organisations and environmental journalism all draw on the combination of analytical skill, policy awareness and ethical commitment that the degree develops. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in environmental policy, international development, climate science or human geography, using the undergraduate programme as the foundation for more specialised work.

For those who want a career that connects intellectual inquiry to real-world impact on one of the defining challenges of the century, this programme offers a serious and well-grounded route in.