Making the link: Building sustainable societies in Europe and globally

The effects of unsustainable policies and practices impact in numerous ways. Factors like extreme weather events, economic instability, social, environmental and economic inequities and increasing chronic diseases are threats to populations, but disadvantaged groups are most affected. For example, evidence points to an unequal distribution of environmental quality. Poorer or socially excluded groups are more likely to live in areas of poorer environmental quality than other groups. People in certain groups face multiple vulnerabilities (e.g. those on low  income, ethnic migrants, those in poor health) to environmental impacts. Research suggests that future ecological crises will affect the poorest and most vulnerable most severely.