Global Sustainable Development News

There has been a prominent and growing realisation that the current “real” global food prices – as adjusted for inflation - are high, relative to the past.

Example headlines include:

“Prices are at the highest since 2014, risking faster inflation” (Bloomberg, May 2021).

However, this representation is inaccurate. Based on simple observation of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) publically available graphics (2021), it is more accurate to say that:

‘It is on average harder to buy food today in 2021, than it has been since 2014, and in fact for most of the noughties, the entire decade of the 1990s, and the 1980s; most of the 1970s, and every year of the 1960s! Food is more expensive today than it has been for the vast majority of modern recorded history.'

While significant media attention on the impact of COVID-19 has empirical justification, most FAO crop reports cite unpredictable weather to explain supply contraction.

This might not be the beginning of the end of the world; but if and when that does come, it will very likely look something like this.

The dual issues of chronic food shortage and inequality currently driving social unrest in South Africa offer further insights into potential futures where the injustice of our global Climate Emergency remains unchallenged.

Read the latest Think Development blog post by Dr Alastair Smith, Senior Teaching Fellow in GSD.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s leading authority on climate, published its latest report on Monday 9 August 2021.

The IPCC report represents a red alert and an immediate call to action. Among the key points to be drawn out of the report are the concerns that extreme weather events are on the rise; carbon dioxide levels are at their highest in 2 million years; and changes to ice, ocean and sea levels could be ‘irreversible for centuries’.

• Hear from Professor João Porto de Albuquerque, Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development, on the "two crucial and immediate take home messages from the report"
• Hear from Dr Marta Guerriero, Deputy Head of the School for Cross-faculty Studies (GSD), on the “unequivocal” evidence presented by the report and the "urgent" need for collective action

The UK State of the Climate report, published on Thursday 29 July 2021, suggests that the UK is already feeling the impact of disruptive climate change. Dr Jonathan Clarke, Senior Teaching Fellow in GSD, comments on how society needs to prepare for these effects.

Earlier this year, Maddie Booth, a Politics, International Studies and GSD graduate, led a partnership project to help students interested in careers in sustainability. In her role as Sustainability Officer at Solihull College and University Centre, along with the Sustainable Development team at Solihull Council, Maddie organised online webinars and resources featuring local businesses, universities, and other organisations. Staff, current students, and alumni from the GSD Department were involved in the project, sharing their experiences to help students learn more about sustainability careers.

We are delighted to announce that several academic members of staff from the School for Cross-faculty Studies have received promotions:

• Dr Nicholas Bernards has been promoted to Associate Professor
• Dr Bryan Brazeau has been promoted to Associate Professor
• Dr Kirsten Harris has been promoted to Associate Professor
• Dr Stéphanie Panichelli-Batalla has been promoted to Professor
• Dr Gioia Panzarella has been promoted to Senior Teaching Fellow
• Dr Gavin Schwartz-Leeper has been promoted to Associate Professor

All of the above promotions came into effect on 1 August 2021, apart from Dr Nicholas Bernards’ promotion which has been in effect since 1 July 2021.

We congratulate Nick, Bryan, Kirsten, Stéphanie, Gioia, and Gavin on their success! These promotions reflect their commitment to their work and we are proud to have these colleagues as valued members of the School for Cross-faculty Studies.

Warwick Sutton Scholars is a two-year programme for Year 8 and 9 students from under-represented backgrounds in higher education across the West Midlands. Coordinated by Warwick's Widening Participation and Outreach team, the aim of the programme is to inspire students to consider university as an option for the future.

The Year 9 programme is run in collaboration with the GSD Department. Due to the pandemic, this year the programme was run entirely online, with more (shorter) events. The participants worked in groups on a research project titled 'Every Plate Tells a Story', aimed at addressing a problem linked to food and sustainable development. They established a research question, conducted primary research (surveys), and designed an intervention aimed at tackling the problem.

We are delighted to have welcomed several new members of staff to the School for Cross-faculty Studies this month. We look forward to seeing the impact that Dr Xiaodong Lin, Dr Nikoleta Jones, Sam Gane, Sheree Thompson, Shehzadi Azis, and Ella Jones have in their new roles.

Each year we run the Global Sustainable Development Competition. This is an exciting opportunity for school students in year 11 and 12 (aged between 15 and 17 years) to think creatively and gain valuable research skills as they learn more about global sustainable development. In the five years that we have run the competition, this year we have received the highest number of entries yet!

Our GSD finalists were awarded their degrees on Monday 12 July 2021. The past two years have been particularly challenging and we are so proud of everyone who has graduated this year.

^{Image credit: Future Leaders 2020-21}

We are delighted to share the news that final-year Liberal Arts student, Matilda Oduntan, and Sociology and GSD graduate, Seiwaa Osei Afriyie, have been named among the UK’s most outstanding African and African Caribbean future leaders.