The 2017 edition of the LIPHE4 Summer School provides a chance to learn how to analyse the metabolic patterns of societies.

LIPHE4 is a non-profit scientific association established in 2003, which gathers an international group of scholars in the field of Sustainability Science. Its aims are to promote research and educational activities related to Sustainability Science and Science for Governance, and to support the development and application of innovative approaches and analytical tools.

LIPHE4 is particularly focused on the development and application of an innovative methodology called Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), developed by Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi – both members of the BiophysEco Scientific Advisory Board. MuSIASEM makes it possible to represent biophysical and socioeconomic variables in an integrated way, establishing a link between the metabolism of societies and the potential constraints of the natural environment.

LIPHE4 organizes yearly summer schools on Integrated and Participatory Analysis of Sustainability Scenarios. The 2017 edition will take place from 10 to 14 July in Naples, Italy. Organized in collaboration with the Department of Biology of the University of Naples Federico II and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, it will aim to familiarize the participants with the theory and applications of the MuSIASEM methodology. In particular, it will illustrate the use of MuSIASEM to carry out relational analysis of the metabolic pattern of social-ecological systems across different dimensions and scales of analysis (also known as ‘MuSIASEM 2.0’). To this end, the Summer School will critically examine selected case studies referring to popular narratives, such as the ‘circular economy’, ‘bio-economy’, ‘low-carbon economy’, ‘green growth’, and ‘100% renewable energy cities’.

You can learn more about the 2017 LIPHE4 Summer School here.