Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) researches and develops the social transformations needed to produce a low-carbon and sustainable society. At the forefront of everything that CAST do is the fundamental question: How can we as a society live differently – and better – in ways that meet the urgent need for rapid and far-reaching emission reductions?
CAST is a partnership between University of Bath, Cardiff University, University of Manchester, University of York, University of East Anglia and Oxford-based charity Climate Outreach and are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
CAST has five core organising principles:
- Focusing on four challenging areas – material consumption, diet, mobility, and thermal comfort – which have substantial climate impacts, but which have so far proven difficult to change.
- Attending to multiple scales in terms of the intersecting roles of individuals, of social structures and contexts, and of policy and political processes, recognising the uniquely different types of agency and capacity available at micro to macro levels.
- Understanding different rates of change as these manifest in people’s lives and across society, and to draw on these to propose and trial opportunities for radical emission reductions.
- Emphasising the importance of values and co-benefits in underpinning the actions and perspectives of people, shaping culture, and driving policy decisions.
- Committed to developing effective two-way communication and engagement with stakeholders and the public, in the design, conduct and translation of research into meaningful impact.
