FROM CARBON COLONIALISM TO CARBON JUSTICE: SOCIAL SCIENCES FOR LOW‐CARBON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Keywords:
climate change, political economy, consumerism, Anthropocene, environmental economics, artificial intelligence, sustainable development.Abstract
Climate change constitutes a systemic challenge embedded in the historical
evolution of economic development rather than an isolated environmental externality. This paper
advances an interdisciplinary political economy framework to examine the structural drivers of
anthropogenic climate change, emphasizing the historical concentration of emissions, unequal
ecological exchange, and the cultural normalization of mass consumption within capitalist societies.
Drawing on insights from sociology, anthropology, and environmental economics, the analysis
demonstrates how production-driven growth models have eroded ecological limits while reshaping
the relationship between human societies and nature. The paper further examines the emerging role
of artificial intelligence (AI) in sustainable economic development, arguing that while AI holds
significant potential to improve resource efficiency, emissions governance, and policy coordination,
its environmental effectiveness remains contingent upon broader institutional and economic
reforms. The findings suggest that technological innovation alone cannot resolve the climate crisis
absent structural transformation of consumption patterns and development trajectories.
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