The information below is subject to change as the course is still being developed. The information will be made definite in June 2026.
How can we live well while living sustainably? What are the relationships between climate change and wellbeing? How might we address climate change while improving health for as many as possible? In short, how do we not only survive but thrive? Current lifestyles, particularly among the most affluent, are characterized by high levels of average wellbeing but are transgressing many of the planetary boundaries. There are large inequalities both between and within countries and we will look at how we can live sustainably from both global and local perspectives. We will introduce students to an interdisciplinary approach to human and environmental wellbeing that combines insights and approaches from psychology, economics, and climate science.
To structure the course, we will look at where we have come. How we can conceptualize wellbeing and how we can measure it both quantitatively and qualitatively. We will then look to the future, examining the many different transitions necessary if we are to thrive long-term on this planet. We will take paired perspectives of pessimism (the road we are on) and hope (the future we must create) to fully outline the different energy, food, and economic transitions necessary in our societies. These perspectives will follow from the books The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: Futures from the Frontiers of Climate Science and from Beyond GDP by 2030, both written by the instructors of this course.
In many cases, the transitions necessary might result in better health for individuals and society. We will explore this by outlining the relationship between health and environmental wellbeing. This will include how physical health could be improved through reduced air- and water-pollution, lower incidence of disease, avoided climate harms, among other improvements. We will also look at mental health such as climate stress and how inequality impacts wellbeing. We will explore how social tipping points might help societies quickly shift from unsustainable to a sustainable paradigms.