{"id":47192,"date":"2019-09-10T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-09-10T07:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lse.ac.uk\/granthaminstitute\/?post_type=news&p=47192"},"modified":"2024-08-16T10:23:07","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T09:23:07","slug":"why-we-need-more-social-science-research-on-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.lse.ac.uk\/granthaminstitute\/news\/why-we-need-more-social-science-research-on-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we need more social science research on climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A solid evidence base on the social science of climate change is essential for navigating the scale and complexity of the climate crisis. While climate change requires the input of many disciplines, the drivers of and the solutions to climate change are fundamentally social, economic and political. We need to understand them better.<\/p>\n

Led by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), research funders in the UK have long been aware of this. As far back as 1991, ESRC sponsored the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment<\/path><\/svg><\/a>, where I got my first academic job. I am now directing another ESRC centre, the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy<\/path><\/svg><\/a>, which started operating more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Now we have published a comprehensive review <\/path><\/svg><\/a>of UK-funded social science research on climate change over the last 10 years that reveals the country’s significant contribution in this area, but also some important research gaps.<\/p>\n

Research councils have supported a wide range of projects<\/h2>\n

We found 481 climate change projects with a significant social science component that have been supported by UK research councils since 2008. This includes 15 research centres dedicated to or contributing to social science research on climate change. Combining both their social science and non-social-science components, the 481 projects have received research council funding worth a total of £438 million.<\/p>\n

A search of Gateway to Research<\/path><\/svg><\/a>, the portal of publicly funded research operated by UK Research and Innovation, yields more than 3,000 climate change projects, however. Our review therefore suggests that only one in six publicly funded climate change projects has a significant social science component.<\/p>\n

The good news is that the supported research covers a considerable diversity of topics, sectors, methods and geographies (see Figure 1 below). Research council support is split evenly between research on adaptation (concerned with increasing climate resilience) and mitigation (concerned with reducing greenhouse gas emissions).<\/p>\n

There is also an even split between projects that focus on the UK and overseas. Unsurprisingly, adaptation projects are often about developing countries – with a particular interest in Africa – as these locations face the greatest adaptation challenges. Mitigation projects are typically focused on the UK and other industrialised countries – the nations with the biggest dents to make in their emissions.<\/p>\n

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Figure 1. UK social science research on climate change by sector<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Source: Fankhauser et al. (2019) UK Research on the Social Science of Climate Change. A Synthesis of ESRC and Related Investments<\/path><\/svg><\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

Some thematic priorities stand out<\/h2>\n

Climate change governance – internationally, nationally and sub-nationally – and the design of climate policy are natural research interests for social scientists and almost 40 per cent of the projects deal with these issues. Particularly over recent funding rounds, there has been growing interest in practices and behaviour in relation to climate change, exploring such issues as public attitudes to climate change or to specific climate solutions.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, there has been considerable work on the transformation of the UK energy sector, where the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) has sponsored a series of prominent end-use energy demand centres. Climate-compatible development, particularly in Africa, has benefitted from additional funding through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), which is dedicated to developing countries.<\/p>\n

Other funding priorities highlighted in the report include floods and droughts in the UK, agriculture and land use, and climate change and the natural environment.<\/p>\n

Notable research gaps remain<\/h2>\n

Among the most important research gaps we found are:<\/p>\n