“Unsustainable Inequalities”, Lucas Chancel

“Unsustainable Inequalities. Social Justice and the Environment”, by Lucas Chancel

Can we fight poverty and inequality while protecting the environment? These challenges are at the center of “Unsustainable inequalities: Social Justice and the Environment” (Harvard University Press, 2020). The book was originally published in French , under the title “Insoutenables inégalités. Pour une justice sociale et environnementale” (edited by Les Petits Matins, 2017).

In Unsustainable Inequalities, Lucas Chancel explores the links between environmental protection and social justice and discusses how environmental inequalities are becoming the new frontier of social injustices. The book argues that it is possible to reconcile social justice and environmental protection, provided substantial changes in how governments design their social policies as well as  tax and investments policies.

Reviews of Unsustainable Inequalities

• “Rising inequality and global warming are the most pressing issues of our time. Written by one of world’s leading experts on global inequality trends and sustainable development, this book demonstrates that they can and should be addressed together, and offers refreshing perspectives on how to do so. A must-read.” – Thomas Piketty
• “Sobering but essential… [Chancel] identifies social inequality as a core driver of environmental unsustainability that leads to a vicious circle wherein the rich consume more and the poor lose access to environmental resources and become increasingly vulnerable to environmental shocks.” – Science Magazine
• “In this concise and precise book Chancel offers an indispensable metric to reveal the class conflicts that cut across the simplistic divide between ecology and social justice, reconciling those afraid of the ‘end of the world’ and those trying to ‘make ends meet.’” – Bruno Latour
• “Lucas Chancel reflects on the complex articulation of the environmental and the socioeconomic spheres… [The book] opens up avenues toward a more desirable and livable future.” – Le Monde

Book details

• Lucas Chancel, Unsustainable Inequalities. Social Justice and the Environment, Harvard University Press, October 2020.
• Original version (in French): Insoutenables inégalités, les Petits Matins, octobre 2017.

Author

Lucas Chancel is co-director of the World Inequality Lab and co-editor of the World Inequality Report 2018. A lecturer at Sciences Po, he is also Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI).

Media Inquiries

Olivia Ronsain: olivia.ronsain@wid.world; +33 7 63 91 81 68

Media Selection

• Andrew Robinson. “The science of sliminess, the secrets of bones, and mathematicians who took to the air: Books in brief.” Nature, November 17, 2020.
• Martin Wolf. “Best books of 2020: Economics.”  Financial Times, November 17, 2020.