LSE Environment Week

We are at a critical point in history. Addressing climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation is increasingly urgent, underscoring the need for research. Climate scientists have extensively studied the environmental consequences of global warming, but the greatest source of uncertainty is the decisions humans will make in response. Economists have much to offer. We have tools for designing policies to address externalities, stimulate innovation, and facilitate widespread adaptation. Our models can also help understand the distributional and far-reaching effects of these policies through complex economic linkages such as trade and migration. We are just beginning to apply what we know to this global challenge.

Achieving a sustainable balance between human activity and the natural environment while maintaining economic growth will require innovation. We need to make economic growth cleaner, control environmental externalities, and protect human populations from environmental change. To identify and explore these innovations, LSE Environment Week and Camp bring together researchers from all fields of economics—including development, macroeconomics, industrial organisation, public, finance, labour, trade, urban, theory, behavioural, and political economy—as well as environmental, energy, and climate experts.

We organise two conferences per year, both taking place in person at the London School of Economics. LSE Environment Week is our flagship conference, running in September, which brings together academics, policy makers and students over the course of 4 days. LSE Environment Camp is our PhD-only conference in May, focused on developing the next generation of researchers working on environmental questions.