Further resources for LSE Festival exhibition 2026: How to save the planet
The social sciences are critical in tackling the existential challenges that we face. Whilst some solutions may be scientific or technological, it is human behaviours and cultures, political systems and economic structures that will determine whether we use them.
From better understanding the value of nature, to improving urban design, and from revealing the role of community action, to holding those with the power to make a difference to account, this year's LSE Festival exhibition explores how LSE research is shaping a more sustainable future.
Here you can find further reading and resources about all the work displayed.
Jump to: Forests and fire, The value of oceans, Sustainable cities, Holding power to account, People and action
Forests and fire
- “Hidden harms: the economic and financial consequences of deforestation and its underlying drivers”, CETEx, Elena Almeida, David Lagoa and Thessa Vasudhevan (October 2024)
- “The economics of tropical deforestation”, National Bureau of Economic Research, Clare A Balboni, Aaron Berman, Robin Burgess and Benjamin A Olken (June 2023)
- Tom Smith’s research involves extensive field measurement campaigns, environmental monitoring, and simulation modelling to understand fire behaviour and emissions in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, and the Arctic. You can browse his papers on Google scholar, including the air pollution impacts of tropical peatland fires in Indonesia (GeoHealth); the seasonality of wildfire emissions and the importance of Indigenous burning practices in northern Australian savannas (Journal of Geophysical Research); and the drivers of extreme wildfire risk in the UK (Nature Communications Earth & Environment).
Dr Thomas Smith | LSE Future proof
The value of oceans
- “Calculations of extreme sea level rise scenarios are strongly dependent on ice sheet model resolution”, Communications Earth and Environment 6(1), Ieva Kazlauskaitė et al (2025)
- ''Predicting Antarctic ice melt and its impact on rising global sea levels'', ''The measure of it'' blog, Ieva Kazlauskaitė and John Barlow (October 2025)
- “What is the blue economy?” and ''What is blue finance?'', LSE Grantham Institute Explainers, Darian McBain (updated by Lea Reitmeier and Georgina Kyriacou in December 2024)
- “The blue imperative: understanding interactions between the ocean, climate and economy” , CETEx, Elena Almeida and Lea Reitmeier (August 2024)
- ''What role do the oceans play in regulating the climate and supporting life on Earth?'', LSE Grantham Institute Explainer, Francisco de Melo Viríssimo and Elizabeth Robinson (2023)
- ''How is climate change affecting the oceans and what are the impacts for people?'', LSE Grantham Institute Explainer, Francisco de Melo Viríssimo, Georgina Kyriacou and Elizabeth Robinson (2023)
- “Beyond the shoreline: The relevance of the ocean to central banks” , CETEx, Bob Ward et al (December 2025)
- ‘‘Diving into a new career after data and AI tech’’, LSE Management blog, Bingqian Gao (February 2026)
- Explore photography, data case studies and watch the award-winning film, UnWRECKed, on Bingqian Gao’s website (bingqiangao.com)
- “Protecting the high seas”, Research for the World , Siva Thambisetty (May 2023)
- ''The Unfree Commons: Freedom of Marine Scientific Research and the Status of Genetic Resources Beyond National Jurisdiction'', Modern Law Review, Siva Thambisetty (2024)
- ''Episode 19: The Ocean, Patents and Pandemics: where science, law, and economics meet'', Ratio Podcast episode featuring Siva Thambisetty (2025)
The ocean is under threat. Overfishing, pollution and man-made climate change are endangering vital life, where the majority of the ocean's biodiversity has remained ungoverned. The United Nations has been working to form a legal framework for the protection of marine biodiversity and the fair sharing of its resources. Dr Siva Thambisetty explains the importance of the High Seas Treaty in protecting our oceans and planet.
Sustainable cities
- “Early childhood development and cities”, Urban95 Academy Working Paper, Katie Beck and Marie Kaune (February 2025)
- ''Rationing by intermittency'' (research summary), Abdulrazzak Tamim
- “Quantifying the economic benefits of public transportation in Kampala”, IGC policy brief, Laurenz Baertsch (2020)
- “How informal waste collection improves public health and reduces urban flooding: evidence from Accra”, IGC publication, Ignacio Banares Sanchez and Yoshiki Wiskamp (2025)
- ‘‘Trading trash on tricycles’’ (job market paper), Ignacio Banares Sanchez and Yoshiki Wiskamp (December 2025)
- ‘‘Creating cleaner cities: policy options for solid waste management’’, Cities that Work (IGC synthesis paper), Victoria Delbridge, Edward Glaeser, Oliver Harman (corresponding author), Mrunmai Joshi and Erin Spence (2025)
- Public Space in Kuwait: From User Behaviour to Policy-making, Alexandra Gomes, Asseel Al-Ragam and Sharifa Alshalfan
- Resource Urbanisms. Natural resources, urban form and infrastructure in the case of Asia’s diverging city models, Philipp Rode, Alexandra Gomes, Muhammad Adeel, Fizzah Sajjad, Jenny McArthur, Sharifa Alshalfan, Peter Schwinger, Clemence Montagne, Devisari Tunas, Christiane Lange, Steffen Hertog, Andreas Koch, Syed Monjur Murshed, Alice Duval and Jochen Wendel
- Shaping an Eco-Kuwait: A Policy Framework for Sustainable Living, Alexandra Gomes, Asseel Al-Ragam and Sharifa Alshalfan
- Roads as Tools for (Dis)connecting Cities and Neighbourhoods: A Socio-spatial Study of Abu Dhabi, Alexandra Gomes, Apostolos Kyriazis, Peter Schwinger, Clémence Montagne and Sepehr Zhand
Dr Alexandra Gomes | LSE Future Proof
Holding power to account
- Use the Transition Pathways Initiative's online tool to explore whether the companies you invest in, or buy from, are meeting their environmental commitments.
- Harnessing Global Value Chains for regional development: how to upgrade through regional policy, FDI and trade, Riccardo Crescenzi and Oliver Harman (Routledge, 2023)
- Green Global Value Chains for sustainable development: environmental upgrading in a fragmented spatial economy, Riccardo Crescenzi and Oliver Harman (Cambridge Elements, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2026)
- "Leveraging opportunities from Global Value Chains for regional development", Research for the World (July 2023)
- “Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-based Violence and Harassment Year 2 progress report”, ILR Global Labor Institute, Pauline Jerrentrup and Sarosh Kuruvilla
- “Agreements to eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in Lesotho”, Worker’s Rights Watch, (2023)
- “Vets must support meat reduction for the benefit of the people, the planet and animals,” Veterinary Record, Steven McCulloch (January 2026)
- “A call for scrutiny of the veterinary profession,” LSE British Politics blog, Steven McCulloch (March 2026)
- “The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems,” The Lancet (October 2025)
What are Global Value Chains and why do they matter for economic & regional development? | Professor Riccardo Crescenzi, Oliver Harman
People and action
- "Dwelling in the uninhabitable Jakarta: notes from the field’’, LSE Southeast Asia blog, Marco del Gallo (2024)
- Cutting the mass line: water, politics and climate in Southwest China, Andrea E Pia (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024)
- ‘‘Soundwalking the energy transition: will Aberdeen’s clean energy ambitions damage its local community?’’, Research for the World, Gisa Weszkalnys, Rachel Grant and Maja Zećo (July 2024)
- ‘‘Granite city sunset: uncommoning the energy transition’’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, Gisa Weszkalnys and William Otchere-Darko (2025)
- ''Q&A with Yufei Zhou'', LSE researcher profile
- Discover more about the work of Engajamundo (engajamundo.org)
- Natural History Museum, "Find your climate action" tool