Speaking at the 3rd Global China Dialogue at the British Academy last Friday, Dr Joy Zhang argued that 'sustainable sustainability' depends not only on sound economic calculation, but also on healthy and fair social relations. There is both a temporal and a spatial dimension to sustainable development.

Drawing on her fieldwork finding on China’s food safety debate, Dr Zhang pointed out that few would dispute that how individuals interpret their 'fair' entitlement to resources, what values they associate with consumption preferences and how they weigh the importance of their contribution to a better society all have exponential accumulative impact on China's sustainable future. Yet findings from ongoing Governing from Scientific Accountability in China project suggested that steering these social perceptions and mobilising collective actions require more than simple top-down instructions or nation-wide education. It demands an engaged approach that empathises with citizens' intimate experience of environmental and social vulnerabilities.