This III research programme examines the interconnections between environmental change, inequality, and environmental policy. It examines how climate impacts and policy responses are distributed across countries, regions, and social groups, and how these inequalities shape both vulnerability to climate risks and the political feasibility of climate action.
This programme focuses on how climate impacts and policy responses are distributed across countries, regions, and social groups, and how these inequalities shape both vulnerability to climate risks and the political feasibility of climate action. It responds to growing evidence that climate change disproportionately harms vulnerable populations, and that poorly designed climate policies—especially those that ignore who bears the costs—can trigger ‘green’ discontent and fuel environmental populism, weakening support for climate action.
The research programme will bring together leading experts at the LSE, in collaboration with external researchers, to build a cross-disciplinary intellectual community in this field.
The programme focuses on four themes:
Unequal climate impacts – analysing how climate damages are unevenly distributed across socioeconomic groups and demographic categories such as race, gender, and age, and how these disparities influence vulnerability and perceptions of climate risk.
Inequality and climate policy design – exploring how the costs and benefits of environmental policies are shared, and how distributional consequences shape public support or resistance to climate action.
Representation and decision-making – investigating whose voices are included in environmental governance and how different social groups are prioritised in practice.
The green transition – identifying mechanisms to ensure that transitions to a low-carbon economy contribute to, rather than undermine, shared prosperity.
Climate Inequalities Mini-Conference - 19 March 2026
The Economics of Environmental Inequality programme are co-hosting the second Economics of Environment and Energy mini-conference on the topic of Climate Inequalities. Stephane Hallegate (the World Bank’s Chief Economic Advisor for Climate) will be presenting alongside another speaker (TBC). The programme will also include short student 'egg-timer’ presentations, offering an opportunity to receive feedback on research.
