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ResearchEnvironment groupProjectsAbout Environment groupIntroductionEnvironmental policy research is inherently concerned with links between society and the natural world. Human activities can have a profound influence on ecosystems, the climate and landscapes. Conversely, the natural world has value for health, aesthetic or recreational reasons and provides the resources upon which economic activities depend. The PSI Environment Group is dedicated to the analysis of the socio-economic causes of environmental impacts and the policies that may ameliorate them. It seeks to undertake policy-relevant research of the highest quality with a view to contributing to the maintenance and enhancement of the environment’s contribution to human welfare, now and in the future. The Environment Group’s approach to the environment recognises the interaction at every level between the environment, the economy and society generally, and is therefore intrinsically interdisciplinary. Many projects are carried out in collaboration with others so that a range of perspectives can be taken for any given problem. The challenge of sustainable development underlines the fact that environmental policy must be firmly embedded in the wider social and economic context. The research of the Environment Group is located within, and seeks to contribute to the development of, thinking about sustainable development. The objectives of the Environment Group are to analyse, investigate and understand:
BackgroundThe Environment Group has operated since Professor Jim Skea arrived at PSI as Director in November 1998. He was previously Leader of the Environment Programme at SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), University of Sussex and Director of the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC`s) Global Environmental Change Programme. With others in the Group, various projects have been carried out including: Reducing Barriers to Energy Efficiency; The Development of Socio-Economic Scenarios for Climate Impact Assessment; The Implications for the UK of an International Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme; and a review of the Environment Agency’s Sustainable Development Research Programme. Mayer Hillman, Senior Fellow Emeritus, also conducts research under PSI auspices. The current Group Head is Ben Shaw, who took over from Professor Paul Ekins in 2008. Ben joined PSI in October 2006 and was previously Principal Policy Adviser at Green Alliance. He is one of the co-ordinators of the Defra/DfT funded Sustainable Development Research Network (SDRN) and manages the secretariat for the Green Fiscal Commission. The Environment Group has developed a number of research areas, including resource productivity and technical change, energy policy and climate change, environmental policy instruments, the governance of science and technology, scenarios of environmentally sustainable development, the social dimension of environmental policies, and conceptions and measures of quality of life. In November 2000, the Sustainable Development Unit at the then DETR (now Defra) commissioned PSI to facilitate a sustainable development research network with the goal of "strengthening the capacity for and delivery of high-quality cross cutting research in the UK relevant to the needs of those who must implement polices and decisions in the context of sustainable development". This project was renewed for a third three-year phase and has enabled PSI to play a leading role at the interface of sustainable development research and policy. The work has involved collaboration with colleagues at the University of Westminster’s Centre for Sustainable Development, the Centre of the Study of Environmental Change and Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh, and with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and various other institutes and consultants. Research themesEnvironmental research at PSI employs a wide range of research methods, from formal modelling and scenario building to many styles of policy analysis and evaluation. A very wide range of data - economic, social and environmental - is relevant to environmentally sustainable development, and provides the empirical basis for the Group’s research. A major objective of the Group is to clarify the scope of sustainable development research and to increase awareness of its significance. Staffing and collaborative linksA full list of current staff and visiting researchers is available here. The group also has a number of research associates through its close links with the Centre for Sustainable Development and the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster. Individual researchers also maintain close links with a large number of other universities and research institutes and policy-focused organisations. |
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NewsThe challenge of climate change [added 17/03/2009] Nuclear power: for and against [added 31/03/2009] Changing attitudes of older workers [added 17/02/2009] Canadian academic discusses economics of citizenship [added 02/02/2009] How to improve engagement with local services [added 11/11/2008] Workshop examines well-being at work [added 21/01/2009] Seminar series discusses work and social policy issues [added 28/11/2008] Michigan professor delivers memorial lecture [added 04/11/2008] |
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Address: Policy Studies Institute, 50 Hanson Street, London, W1W 6UP
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Telephone: 020 7911 7500 | 
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