Research within this area uses theories and approaches from the social sciences and humanities to understand past, present, and future environmental issues in Latin America.

At Nordiska Latinamerikainstitutet (NILAS), research on this area has focused on a broad range of topics, including: the meanings of waste; overconsumption, class, and environmental concerns; energy and extractivism; Multispecies storytelling; Future Climate Scenarios in literature and visual art.