Danubius International Conferences, 20th International Conference on European Integration - Realities and Perspectives

Economic Pathways to Sustainability: The Role of Social Sciences and Humanities in Shaping Green Economic Policies and Practices

Besa Shahini
Last modified: 2025-03-18

Abstract

The emergence of climate challenges requires an immediate shift towards sustainable development through green economy transitions. The paper investigates how Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) fields create essential contributions to designing sustainable economic models and policies. Interdisciplinary SSH research plays a critical role in providing necessary insights for both economic planning and policy-making when addressing climate resilience issues. The analysis presents the social and economic aspects of environmental science while demonstrating that SSH provides critical knowledge about economic effects and policy performance. The paper proposes creating economic systems that combine ethical and cultural elements with behavioral elements to support environmentally friendly and socially equitable policy measures. Multiple case studies presented in this study reveal how SSH can shape economic strategies and demonstrate the need for an economic system shift toward environmental sustainability and social equity. SSH plays an essential role in promoting comprehensive green economic policy approaches and this research demonstrates that deeper SSH engagement produces more successful and transformative sustainability pathways. The paper shows Social and Human Science discipline capabilities to develop innovative economic practices when implemented within the green economy structure.