Environmental Change from a Social Science Perspective
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 927
Special Issue Editors
Interests: social psychology; behavioral economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Environmental change is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, demanding both urgent action and innovative solutions, and while policy reforms and technological advancements are critical, human behavior plays an equally pivotal role in addressing climate change. Drawing from diverse fields such as psychology, sociology, law, economics, and political science, this Special Issue examines environmental change through a comprehensive social science lens.
The aim is to illuminate how human behavior can be transformed to foster climate action by uncovering the root causes of behavior, its environmental impacts, and strategies to promote sustainable practices. Key areas of focus include designing and implementing policy frameworks guided by social science insights, fostering community-driven approaches to sustainability, leveraging behavioral insights into resource use and consumption, and exploring the neurocognitive mechanisms that shape environmental decision-making. Contributions that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and propose practical, holistic solutions are especially welcome.
This Special Issue aspires to bridge the gap between theory and practice, offering scholars and practitioners a platform to deepen their understanding of how social science perspectives can drive effective, sustainable responses to environmental challenges.
Dr. Ana Rita Farias
Dr. Marta Santos Silva
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- environmental change
- human behavior
- sustainable practices
- social science perspectives
- climate action strategies
- behavioral insights
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