The course examines the concept of sustainable development, its evolving definitions, and the trade-offs between economic progress and environmental costs. It delves into the metrics and indices used to assess recent progress in sustainable development and evaluates whether current trends can be reversed. Particular attention is paid to environmental degradation, identifying its global and regional drivers, with a focus on its impact on African societies and their limited adaptive capacities. The discussion also addresses how Africa is engaging in global value chains as a path to internationalization, analyzing patterns of specialization, country-specific cases, and how companies have demonstrated resilience in response to external shocks (e.g., Covid, war, trade wars). Finally, the lecture explores climate change as a critical challenge for sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the region's vulnerability due to factors such as rapid population growth, urbanization, the expansion of extractive industries, and deforestation, all of which have contributed to increased levels of environmental degradation and the emergence of environmental displacement.
- Docente: Giorgia Giovannetti