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CASE Social Exclusion Seminars

Towards socially inclusive environmental policy: concepts, insights and challenges

Lucie Middlemiss (University of Leeds)

Wednesday 04 December 2024 12:00 - 13:00


This event is both online and in person

SAL 3.05, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Sir Arthur Lewis Building, LSE, 32 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PH


About this event

The transition to Net Zero marks a radical reshaping of many aspects of everyday life. It also has the potential to influence positively several social challenges: improving public health, reducing the effects of poverty, increasing wellbeing, and bringing communities together. However, these positive outcomes are by no means a given. Household on low incomes in particular are less resilient than ever following austerity, COVID 19 and the cost-of-living crisis, and the magnitude of change envisaged here risks being overwhelming. In this talk Lucie Middlemiss will combine conceptual work on social inclusion in Net Zero, and empirical insights from research in seven low-income communities in Leeds and Newcastle, following a series of workshops to understand their perspectives and concerns on this issue. The research team found that people’s ability to participate in net zero was shaped by the particular community they live in (due to its geographical location, local services and infrastructure), by their house (the building and its tenure) and home (the people they live with) as well as by their lack of funds. It is clear from our data that people are already acting on net zero, taking small measures that help them save money, with the support of family, community and employers. However, people have big concerns about their ability to participate in the more substantial changes they can see ahead. Lucie will reflect on policy in this field, and suggest some more productive, and socially inclusive, directions.

Listen to a recording of the event:

These seminars are held on Wednesdays in term time at 12:00-13:00

Seminars this year will continue as in person or as hybrid (online and in person) events. Please check our website listings and Twitter feed @CASE_LSE for updates.

This seminar series is organised by:

Laura Lane, Email: l.lane@lse.ac.uk

Dr Abigail McKnight, Email: abigail.mcknight@lse.ac.uk

For further information and papers, when available, please contact:

The CASE team Email: case@lse.ac.uk.