Environment and Sustainable Development
Environment and sustainable development addresses one of the most complex and consequential sets of questions facing contemporary societies: how can economic development and environmental protection be reconciled, how do global institutions and market forces interact with ecological systems, and why is it so difficult to act collectively on challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and resource depletion? The programme draws on economics, political science, sociology, geography and environmental science, treating environmental problems as fundamentally social and political as well as physical.
At the London School of Economics, this three-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, situating your study in a global intellectual context that reflects the global nature of the challenges you are examining. You will engage with questions about globalisation and the environment, the political economy of sustainability, environmental governance at national and international levels, the economics of climate change and biodiversity, and the ethics of development and intergenerational equity. LSE's distinctive social science approach means you will learn to analyse these challenges through rigorous empirical and theoretical frameworks, rather than treating sustainability as a matter of good intentions alone.
Graduates of environment and sustainable development programmes go on to careers in international organisations, government environmental agencies, NGOs, sustainable finance and investment, environmental consultancy, policy research, think tanks, journalism and corporate sustainability roles. LSE's reputation and London location provide exceptional access to the organisations, institutions and networks where graduates in this field typically make their careers. Further study at master's level in environmental economics, environmental policy, sustainable development or climate change is a natural next step for those who want to deepen a specialism or pursue research and academic careers.