Social sciences should more effectively research “human causes, vulnerabilities and impacts” of environmental change given that it affects people’s livelihoods, chances of survival, and ways of life, says the 'World Social Science Report 2013: Changing Global Environments' is produced jointly by UNESCO, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Social Science Council (ISSC).
“North or South, human behaviour contributes significantly to climate change,” says ISSC president Olive Shisana, in the report's preface. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions “is inextricably linked with human behaviour and the model of development we choose to follow”.
In the North, people want to maintain their lifestyles; in the South, people want similar lifestyles, which “complicates the issue”, she notes.
Despite the role of human behaviour, “the social sciences have remained marginal to global environmental change research”, the report says, warning that “now is not the time to stay on the sidelines” as climate and environmental change create “staggering human-made crises, and as the world struggles to find a path toward a more secure and sustainable future”...
"Dejected," a 2008 painting by Adib.azadeh, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
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