Introduction

Abstract

The intensifying global environmental crisis poses an existential threat to human well-being, exposing the deep vulnerabilities of our socio-economic systems and disproportionately burdening the world's most disadvantaged populations. A rich and long-standing tradition in macro-sociology offers a powerful lens to understand the underlying social drivers of this crisis. By examining the interconnectedness of development, well-being, and the environment this scholarship illuminates potential pathways towards a more sustainable future. The contributions in this special issue of leverages this macro-comparative approach and innovative multi-scalar quantitative methodologies to highlight these interdependencies, illustrating how structural inequality shapes human and environmental relations and how macroeconomic factors in some national contexts can hamper the pursuit of well-being in others. We introduce the issue by providing context for the crisis and reviewing relevant theory and empirical research within the macro-sociological tradition. Subsequently, we showcase the contributions of each included paper, highlighting their unique insights and policy implications for structural reforms. Finally, we synthesize concrete policy recommendations and identify promising avenues for future research.