FROM CARBON COLONIALISM TO CARBON JUSTICE: SOCIAL SCIENCES FOR LOW‐CARBON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Climate change constitutes a systemic challenge embedded in the historical evolution of economic development rather than an isolated environmental externality. This paper advances an interdisciplinary political economy framework to examine the structural drivers of anthropogenic climate change, emphasizing the historical concentration of emissions, unequal ecological exchange, and the cultural normalization of mass consumption within capitalist societies. Drawing on insights from sociology, anthropology, and environmental economics, the analysis demonstrates how production-driven growth models have eroded ecological limits while reshaping the relationship between human societies and nature. The paper further examines the emerging role of artificial intelligence (AI) in sustainable economic development, arguing that while AI holds significant potential to improve resource efficiency, emissions governance, and policy coordination, its environmental effectiveness remains contingent upon broader institutional and economic reforms. The findings suggest that technological innovation alone cannot resolve the climate crisis absent structural transformation of consumption patterns and development trajectories.