Lse: Public Lectures And Events

Contributor(s): Ed Conway, Dr Kamala Dawar, David Henderson, James Wallace | We have a growing waste problem, which has been around for some time and is only getting worse. Dumping of sewage is threatening the health of our rivers. Plastics have penetrated deep into the world’s oceans. Leakages from landfills, farming and industry are contaminating our soil and groundwater. Waste pollution harms public health, biodiversity and the environment. To address it, we need new laws and huge investments. There has been much recent controversy in the UK around Sewage in Our Waters. New laws would have to specify who has the responsibility of undertaking the transition and the investments – water companies, producers, consumers or governments? Preventing transboundary waste flows would require international action to plug loopholes in domestic laws and international conventions.

Contributor(s): Professor Luis Garicano, Professor Maisa Rojas Corradi, Professor Catherine Wolfram | Trade and climate change policies have become increasingly interwoven. Subsidies for green industries often provoke tariffs, such as US actions over Chinese solar panels and electric vehicles. The European Union’s Emission Trading System (ETS) has set an increasingly high price on carbon emissions. But if high emission industries like steel, simply relocate and European consumers then buy the imported steel, this “carbon leakage” undermines the original policy. To tackle this problem, the European Union has introduced the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which seeks to tax such imports to prevent carbon leakage – and to encourage other countries to also introduce carbon taxes. The UK is planning the same. But many countries are unhappy, claiming this is simply disguised protectionism.

Contributor(s): Claudio Frischtak, Basak Odemis, Professor Rohini Pande, Ali Sarfraz | Large investments are needed to confront climate change. Current levels are far below what is required. Bridging this investment gap rests on harnessing both public and private climate finance. Yet, accessing and effectively using these funds presents substantial challenges, especially in developing countries. Innovative market solutions could help. Markets can be useful because climate change is a global commons problem and different countries have different abilities to reduce emissions. What is missing is a link between those who wish to and can pay for reducing emissions and those who have opportunities to do so. These challenges are amplified in low and middle income countries which grapple with limited institutional capacity and complex international finance frameworks. Strict eligibility requirements and cumbersome application processes further complicate access to vital financial resources, exacerbating disparities

Contributor(s): Professor Esther Duflo, Elizabeth Lewis Channon, Khari Motayne, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides | While there are always rumours about who might win a Nobel Prize every year, there is no short list for the globally revered academic awards. This means that winning one always comes as a complete surprise. In this episode of LSE iQ, we explore what it’s like to win the prestigious prize and how it changes your life. The Nobel Prizes were established in 1900 at the behest of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish Chemist, Inventor and Industrialist, known in particular for his invention of dynamite. In his will he stated that his fortune was to be used to reward those who have made the most significant contributions to humanity. The prizes would recognise achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. The prize for economics would come much later in 1968. The prizes are awarded in October every year. Sue Windebank and Charlotte Kelloway talk to two Nobel Laureates, Profess

Contributor(s): Professor Susan Athey | Digital interventions are well-suited for social impact applications because they are relatively inexpensive to develop and update, they can be targeted to meet the needs of individuals, and they are highly scalable. This talk will review several recent implementations of digital technology to social impact applications, including childhood literacy, programs to enable career transitions and demonstrate skills, and digital assistants that help workers and service providers be more effective. In each case, a new digital product was developed and evaluated in the field. The evidence shows that the interventions work better for some types of individuals than others, illustrating the importance of targeting interventions where they are most effective.

Contributor(s): Nina Rousille, Camille Landais, Jane Garvey | This episode of LSE iQ explores whether gender pay gap reporting, pay transparency and tackling gender norms can reduce the gender pay gap. On average across the globe, for every pound earned by a man, a woman earns around 80 pence, according to a 2023 report from the United Nations. But despite huge advances in access to education, the labour market, and the introduction of the UK Equality Act of 2010, which guarantees equal pay for men and women doing equal work, those figures have pretty much remained the same for the past two decades. Still, the gender pay gap - the difference between the average earnings of men and women - endures. So, how can we solve it? Anna Bevan talks to broadcaster Jane Garvey about the impact of gender pay gap reporting and what happened to her after the BBC was forced to publish its gender pay gap report. She also speaks to Nina Rousille, the Executive Director of LSE’s Hub for Equal Representation and Assistant Profes

Contributor(s): Professor Sir Tim Besley, Professor Richard Davies, Eshe Nelson | They explore the pressure on public finances (from the likelihood of future tax rises or spending cuts) to each stance the parties have taken and whether they've accounted the coming fiscal challenges, to what the next Government could and should do next.

Contributor(s): Dr Laura Serra, Elinor Goodman, Professor Tim Bale | Our experts provide insight and analysis on the night. 

Contributor(s): Professor Andrés Velasco, Dr Mukulika Banerjee, Professor Chris Anderson | In addition to the UK election, our experts weigh in on the future of liberal democracies. 

Contributor(s): Professor Iain Begg, Professor Michael Cox, Professor Stephanie Rickard, Professor Peter Trubowitz | They explore rising global tensions and defence spending to the outcome of the next US election, and the future of our relationship with the EU and potential outcomes of the French elections.

Contributor(s): Professor Wendy Thomson, Professor Andrew Street, Professor Nicholas Barr | They review the stances of each party and how they’ve shaped their campaigns to what the next Government needs to do to address them.

Contributor(s): Dimitri Zenghelis, Dr Philipp Rode, Professor Elizabeth Robinson | They will also examine the role climate change has played in the election and if the plans made by the main political parties deliver sufficiently to what the next Government could and should do.

Contributor(s): Dr Nick Anstead, Professor Helen Margetts, Professor Julie Posetti | They explore the difference between this election in 2024 and previous ones with regard using AI and what the next Government should do (if anything) to protect the democratic process.

Contributor(s): Ruchir Sharma | Sharma says progressive youth are partly right and that capitalism has morphed into “socialism for the very rich.” The broader issue, however, is socialised risk for the poor, the middle class and the rich; government is trying to guarantee that no one ever suffers economic pain by borrowing heavily to prevent recessions, extend recoveries, and generate endless growth. The result is rapidly rising debt and declining competition. 

Contributor(s): Zaneta Sedilikova, Cynthia Hanawalt, Professor Harro van Asselt, Dr Joana Setzer, Catherine Higham | Activist groups and civil society organisations continue to play a pivotal role in leveraging climate litigation to shape climate governance. Central to many of these cases is the use of human rights arguments to hold governments and corporations accountable for inadequate action on climate issues. The report's authors share their insights and discuss with experts on the latest trends in climate change litigation.

Contributor(s): Shirley Rodrigues, Jean-Louis Missika, Ciaran Cuffe, Dr Liam Beiser-McGrath | Cities are widely considered to be progressive bastions against the tide of populism and growth of right-wing movements across Europe. But recent election results show that cities are not immune to the divisive discourses surrounding the green transition. From Berlin to Barcelona to Oslo to London, green policies have developed into a central battleground in local politics, with initiatives such as 15-minute cities, low-traffic neighbourhoods, low emission zones and other attempts to reduce car dependency proving particularly contentious. How can urban leaders design and communicate policies in ways that reconcile concerns for the end of the month and concerns for the end of the world, and enable the transition towards more just and sustainable cities?

Contributor(s): Daria Zakharova, Professor Elli Leadbeater, Professor Jonathan Birch, Sam Beckbessinger | Human beings are part of a vast sentient world full of conscious creatures, and even those of us far away from centres of political power have immense influence over huge numbers of animal lives - influence which we can choose to exercise for good or ill. 

Contributor(s): Sadiqah Musa, Professor Neil Lawrence, Dr Chandrima Ganguly | Who is in charge of the algorithms and models that shape our future? 

Contributor(s): Ros Taylor, Dr Laura Gilbert, Rafael Behr | Trust (in media, institutions, politics and democracy) is widely reported to be in decline, but how important is it for a functioning society and why? What’s the relationship between trust and power?

Contributor(s): Professor Naila Kabeer, Phillip Hensher, Monica Ali | How can an author bring out the stories and voices buried in their research to deliver the impact they are hoping for? And how should writers communicate experiences of power and oppression that are not their own? Whether embarking on a creative novel or an academic monograph, an author is faced with choices about the ways in which they tell their stories.