TARGETissuesSocial Innovation ProgramSchool of Social Sciences, Waseda UniversityAPPROACHtoStudySustainabilityissuescanbeunderstoodasdistributionalissuesovergenerations.Wewillattempttofindevidence-based,practicalanswerstothequestiononhowwecanmaximizeourwelfareatpresenttimewithoutsacrificingthewelfareoffuturegenerations.Climatechangeisadifficultchallengewefacenow.Highertemperaturesandvolatileprecipitationpatternsareincreasinglyaffectingthelivesofthepeopleonourplanet.Climatechangehasbeencausedbyhumanactivitiessoadaptationofclimatechangeaswellasmitigationofgreenhousegasesisurgentlyrequired.Thecontinuingdelayinmitigationeffortswillonlyleadtothecreationofburdensforfuturegenerations.Adaptationofclimatechangecanonlybedoneonalocallevelwhileglobaleffortsareneededtoreducegreenhousegasemissions.Wehaveobservednumerouseffortsinthelocal,nationalandinternationallevels,butwestillneedinnovativesocialinstitutionsandpoliciesthatcanpreventthefurtherdeteriorationofthequalityoflifeoffuturegenerations.Energysecurityisanotherchallenge.Forsustainabilityineconomicactivities,theuseofrenewableresourcessuchassolar,wind,geothermalandbiomassresourcesisdesirableastheuseofexhaustibleresourcesforenergyisnotasustainableoptioninthelong-run.Atpresent,relativelyhighfinancialcostdiscouragestheuseofrenewableresources.Therefore,wecertainlyneedresearchanddevelopmenteffortsfortechnologicalinnovationsaswellassocialinnovationsthatwillhelpustoovercomethechallengesinenergysecurity.SatelliteimagesshowingtheshrinkageofLakeChad,Africa(ImagecourtesyofNASAGSFCScientificVisualizationStudioandLandsat7ProjectScienceOffice)Weacademicallyapproachthesubjectofsustainabilityfromthreeperspectives:social,economicandenvironmental.Weparticularlyseektounderstandtheconditionsinwhichinstitutionsandpoliciescanbestcontributetosocial,economicandenvironmentalsustainability.Sosocialinnovationsininstitutionsandpoliciesareamust.Whatcanwelearnfromourpreviousandpleasantexperiencesinsocial,economicandenvironmentalsustainability?HistoryhasproventhattheSoviet-typesocialandeconomicsystemswerenotsustainable.Thepresentvalueofthefuturestreamofeconomicbenefitsmustexceedthepresentvalueofthefuturestreamofeconomiccostsforeconomicinstitutionsandpoliciestobeacceptedbythepopulationinthelong-run.Socialandeconomicdevelopmentwasnotfeasiblewithoutenvironmentalsustainability.Intheclassroomandonthefield,studentswillactivelylearnlessonsfrompreviousmistakesandsuccessfulcases.Wewillalsodiscusswhatsocialinnovationsareusefulforourchallengesinsocial,economicandenvironmentalsustainability.Learninganalyticaltoolsisalsoimportant.Economics,forexample,providesanalyticalinstrumentsthatallowustoobtainpotentialsolutionsandderivepolicyimplicationsforsocial,economicandenvironmentalsustainability.Wewillalsobestudyingmethodologiestovalueenvironmentalassetswhichdonothavemarketstotradeandwillexaminetoolsusedincost-benefitanalyses.Similarly,wewilldiscusssocial,economicandenvironmentalsustainabilityfromtheperspectivesofpoliticalscience,internationalrelations,businessadministration,sociology,andscienceandengineering.GraphshowingtheannualincreaseofCO2intheatmospherenearMaunaLoa,Hawaii(ImagecourtesyofGlobalMonitoringDivisionofNOAA'sEarthSystemResearchLaboratory)law,18Field 03ECONOMIC & ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
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