Environmental Change and Societal Transitions

The Environmental Change and Societal Transitions research group is an interdisciplinary group that explores the relationship between people, the environment and technology.

Environment, Culture and Society logo

We examine the interactions between people, the environment and technology and how people can live well in a changing environment now and in the future. We look beyond individual disciplines to deepen our understanding of the relationships between environmental change and human behavior and are interested in the socio-ecological processes, socio-technical systems and the interactions between them. 

Our researchers bring together tailored combinations of established methodologies in the social and natural sciences or develop new methods, enabling us to examine historical evidence and observed trends over time.  We unpack the critical drivers for change, evaluate the impacts of existing policies, model future scenarios, or listen with a range of stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of societal challenges and produce pathways for sustainability transitions.  

Our research is thanks to the hard work of the people in this group. Click their names to find out more on their profile.

(For other research groups, such as those in Earth and Planetary Sciences, staff feeds are currently automatically shown from a database. It will be looked into if it is possible to implement this on all other research groups. Profiles will link to Edinburgh Research Explorer profiles on site launch)

  • Professor Eliza Calder
  • Dr Kate Crowley
  • Professor Ruth Doherty
  • Professor Kate Heal
  • Dr Meriwether Wilson
  • Dr Simon Shackley
  • Professor Dan van der Horst
  • Dr Laura Watts
  • Professor Andy Dugmore
  • Dr Anthony Newton
  • Dr Eva Panagiotakopulu
  • Professor Marc Metzger
  • Professor Mark Rounsevell
  • Dr Alfy Gathorne-Hardy
  • Dr Peter Alexander
  • Professor Dave Reay
  • Dr Clare Barnes
  • Dr Aidan Keane
  • Dr Janet Fisher
  • Dr Casey Ryan
  • Dr Sam Staddon
  • Dr Genevieve Patenaude
  • Dr William Mackaness
  • Dr Neil Stuart
  • Dr Gary Watmough
  • Professor Iain Woodhouse 

Research case studies

(working title)

[ In future development of the site, there will be an opportunity for each research group to have a select number (no more than 3 ) of research case studies to showcase on their page. These will be links to research case studies that are/will be in the "Featured Research" section. 

This could be research that members of your group are most proud of, feel like it reflects best on the range of research undertaken, or would be most attractive to prospective research students. ]

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